Naruto the Rokubi Jinchuriki
by Raven and Phoenix
Summary: A new history changes the story of Naruto drastically. Instead of Naruto looking like his father and acting like his mother, he looks like his mother and acts like his father. He has access to his heritage. The most prominent change of all is he is the Rokubi Jinchuriki. Read to find out how these changes affect the Naruto world as a whole. Warning Shika/Naru pair maybe male-preg
1. Chapter 1

**A Revision of History**

 **AN: I do not own Naruto. In my story, Naruto is OOC, which in turn changes how other characters respond to him. He looks like Nagato with blue eyes but has his father's intelligence. Hope you like it. In regards to my other stories, I am still writing them. Some are being completely scrapped and rewritten, others are just taking me longer because I am in college now and do not have as much free time.**

The Uzumaki clan were a renowned group of shinobi. They were known for their fuinjutsu, suiton ninjutsu, longevity, and red hair. But what people often overlook is their relationship with slugs. It all started with Taku Uzumaki. While searching for a place for his family to settle down, he came upon an island protected by whirlpools. Using his impressive fuinjutsu skills, he parted them. On the island, he built a home for his family and the future generations. During his time on the island, he happened to find a summoning contract in a deep cave. It was to the Slug summons.

He applied chakra to unseal the scroll, and immediately a slug landed in front of him. It was Katsuyu, the leader of the slug summons. She put Taku through the trials of the Slug. She found him satisfactory and aligned her entire clan to the Uzumaki clan. From that day on the Uzumaki had a special relationship in return for proper treatment and protection, the Slugs taught the Uzumaki all about healing justsu. For thirty long generations, the Uzumaki held up their promise. The Rokubi, the queen of all Slugs, took notice of it and granted the Uzumaki a strong water affinity to make their duties easier.

Things changed when the heiress of the Uzumaki clan, Mito Uzumaki, married Hashirama Senju. She left her home alone, with only her belongings and the Slug contract. It was hers to pass on to her children when the time came. For the first couple years of her marriage, it was peaceful. However, everything changed when Madara Uchiha went rogue. Hashirama tracked down his former friend and pleaded for Madara to return. But Madara would not budge, so Hashirama was forced to fight. Mito watched from the sidelines as her husband struggled with all of his might. Madara, knowing he would lose, pulled out his trump card. He used his Sharingan to take control of the Rokubi.

Madara knew of the close relationship between the Rokubi and the Uzumaki. He was in fanfare watching the horror that invaded Mito's face, as she watched a beloved friend helpless to men's bidding. However, even with the power of a mighty Biju Madara was no match for Hashirama's strength. With Madara defeated the Rokubi was free. To protect the Rokubi from ever being used like Madara used her, Mito sealed her in herself. It was at that moment that Mito Uzumaki became the first Jinchuriki. Using that idea as a basis, Hashirama split up the Biju between the five great nations and Takigakure to create a semblance of peace.

Mito remained Jinchuriki until she felt her death coming. She requested an Uzumaki from her homeland to go and train to be the next Rokubi Jinchuriki. Kushina accepted her role with grace. However, with the destruction of Uzushiogakure Kushina and Mito became the last known Uzumakis. When Kushina became the Jinchuriki, she took on that title. However, it was not much longer until she met the love of her life, Minato Namikaze. They both played pivotal roles in ending the Third Great Shinobi war. When the time came, they married in secret and even conceived a child, that they named Naruto.

On the day of Naruto's birth, a man claiming to be Madara used the confusion of the delivery to release the Rokubi, and take control of her. While under Madara 's influence, she caused mass destruction to the village to the village that she has been protecting for the past 200 years. Minato, using an Uzumaki seal, sealed her fully into his son. The cost though was the loss of his life. Kushina died protecting Naruto from an acid blast. The tale of Naruto, the Jinchuriki of the Six-Tails, starts here.

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I brushed my hands over the soft earth of my garden, like the feeling that I get from touching it. When I reached one of the many plants in the garden, I feel the stem and the leaves to see if it needs water. They are slightly dry, so I pour some water at the base. The plant seemed to preen from the action. I smile as I continue to water all of my plants. While doing so, I notice that there are several slugs in the garden bed. I gently place my hand on the soil as one of these slugs approach it. The slug smoothly runs its antennae on my appendage before slithering onto my limb. The mucus feels ticklish.

"Hello, little slug," I say as I lift the slug to eye level. The slug just lifts its antenna back in greeting. I smile and use the tip of my finger to run up and down its back. The slugs enjoy the contact because it practically vibrates. I reach into one of my snack bags and pull out a blueberry. When the slug identifies the fruit, it crawls onto it and starts to eat it. I place the slug back onto the earth and lay out several blueberries for the other slugs. While they munch on their snack, I go back to watering my plants. When the slugs are full, they go back to their homes underneath the soil. I wave at them, and they seem to signal back.

With my gardening finished it is time to sleep. I close the door to the balcony and make sure that the front door is locked. I crawl into my bed and curl under the cover that is designed to look like water. It doesn't take me long to drift into a world of darkness.

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The next time I opened my eyes I was surrounded by a beautiful forest with a large lake in the middle. I rub at my eyes to make sure that this actually what I am seeing. The surroundings did not disappear. I was in complete awe at the serene scene before me. The trees were large and full of life. The water was clear and peaceful. As I was examining the beautiful environment, I noticed a couple of bubbles drifting from the lake. One landed in my hand and when it popped a gush of wind blew into my face. I held my stomach as I giggled. Suddenly more and more bubbles started to form. They all flew towards me and wrapped around me before moving on. The bubbles oddly felt like the caress that the Jiji sometimes does.

I look to see that all the bubbles are gathering in one spot. Allo of a sudden the bubbles burst and in their place was a giant slug with six tails. I have to crane my neck even to see the top of this gigantic beast. "Woah you are huge!" I yell.

The giant slug looked down at me. " **Why hello little Naruto?** "

"How do you know my name?" I ask the slug.

" **I know your name because I have been with you all of your life.** " The slug answers.

The response does not make much sense. I just got here, how can this slug have known me my whole life? "Hey, mister, who are you? And where am I?"

" **Hmm, well my name is Saiken. As to where we are, we are on your mind.** "

Now I am even more confused. "My mind?" I say as I scratch my head trying to figure out how we are in my mind.

" **Yes, your mind. The reason that I had known you your entire life is that when you were just a couple of hours old."**

"Sealed into me? Why would anyone want to seal you into a baby? You look nice." I say in disbelief.

" **I am nice Naruto. I was sealed because I was a danger to people around me and myself. On the day you were born, I was ripped from my previous container by a bad man. This man used a technique to drive me into an uncontrollable rage. So a great man sealed me into you.** "

"My birthday, but that was the day that the Rokubi att-" I freeze in place as my brain put all of the pieces together.

" **Yes, I am the Rokubi, the six tailed slug.** " Saiken does not move from her spot.

"But you don't look like you are dangerous."

" **No Naruto everything is dangerous in its way, but I make it a habit not to cause danger to the people and things I like. Let me tell you a story about myself so that you better understand.** " Saiken then goes on to explain the history between the Uzumaki and slugs.

"Yatta my clan is awesome!"

" **They were indeed.** "

"You know if you think about it you are the last remaining thing that connects me to my old clan." Saiken pauses not expecting this response.

" **I guess you are correct.** "

"Say if you have a lot of knowledge on the Uzumaki, can you teach it too to me so that I can continue the legacy of my clan?"

" **I suppose I can. But if I am to train you, it will be in my ninja arts as well. I will turn you into the best Jinchuriki there is.** "

"Yatta, when can we start?"

" **Well we can start tomorrow, but first there are some loose ends we need to tie up. Follow me.** " Saiken then dissolved into bubbles and drifted away.

I follow the bubbles to a large gate that has a large tag on it. The bubbles materialize into Saiken. "What is this Saiken?"

 **"This is the sealing matrix. While most sealing matrices doesn't allow the prisoner much freedom, this is an Uzumaki seal that allows me to go where ever I want to as long as I am not attempting to escape.** "

"Well, why are we here?"

" **This will allow us to train together. I need you to rip off the bottom left corner of the tag. It will allow us to communicate better even when you are not in your mindscape. Then I can train you during the day on physical things and teach you while you sleep in abstract things.** "

"And all I have to do is rip the seal a bit." Saiken nods. I reach up and tear the designated area; nothing happens, so I nod my head.

" **Okay Naruto I think it is time we part, but before we go, I have one last mission for you. While I know a lot about the Uzumaki clan, it is limited. I want you to go to your Hokage and request the everything belonging to the Uzumaki, including the manor and all ninja related items.** "

"Why would Jiji know where they are? And if he did, why would he not tell me anything?"

" **That I do not know, but I know that the Sandaime Hokage, has known the Uzumaki clan for a long time."**

"Okay, I will ask him tomorrow."

" **Then I will see you later alligator."** I giggle at her goodbye before I get ejected from my mind. When I open my eyes, the sun is coming in from one of my windows and is hitting my eyes. I use one of my eyes to block out the sun and the other to rub the sleep out of my eyes. Was that real? ' **Of course, it was Naruto** _ **.**_ '

"Okay, so I can talk to you in my mind."

' **Yes, but I suggest you think all of your responses before someone throws you in an asylum** ' I blush at the thought. Okay well, might as well make some food before going to the Jiji. I make a simple breakfast of rice and an egg. As I eat, Saiken talks to me about how our training will go. Because I am only five, most of the physical training will be conditioning to prepare my body for more things. The abstract things will be things such as geography, math, reading, writing, fuinjutsu, and chakra control, whatever that is. When I turn 8, which is the year I will join the academy to become a ninja, Saiken will teach me the clan's taijutsu, and ninjutsu. The taijutsu is the slug style that has been passed down from generation to generation. Now for ninjutsu, there are several things that I can do. Since I have a water affinity, I will learn Suiton ninjutsu. Saiken will also teach me her ninjutsu, Acid and Bubble release. Any other ninjutsu I choose to learn, she will do her best to show me. Most of the ninjutsu will be below C-rank until after I graduate from the academy.

When I finish the meal, I place my bowl into the sink and fill it with water. Then I get clothes to take a shower; it is just a simple black shirt with an, what I just learned to be, Uzumaki crest, and a pair of shorts. The wash is a quick one, just enough to clean my body, but not enough to enjoy it. I brush teeth after getting dressed. Then I put my sandals on before leaving my apartment. There are not many people around since it is only eight in the morning, but that does not stop the glares that come at my person. Now that I know why people glare at me, I both understand and dislike the villagers. On the one hand, they need someone to blame for all of their misery, but can they not realize that I am not Saiken. Saiken distracts me by telling me corny jokes. It works as I am at the Hokage tower before I even know it. It is a short stair climb to get to the Hokage's office. I see that the grouchy assistant is not there, so I slip into the room.

"Naruto my boy, what can I do for you this early in the morning," Jiji says as he puts his pen down.

"I um. I am requesting as the last Uzumaki in Konoha all things that pertain to my clan." I manage to say with a bit of coaching from Saiken. The reaction is not what I expect. The loving face of Jiji turns into a sterns face. With a gesture, several men wearing all black leave the room.

Jiji rubs his face. "I see you have met the Rokubi."

"I did."

"I was hoping that you would be a bit older before you met, but the Rokubi is a stubborn one." He reaches into his desk and pulls out a key. "This is the key to the Uzumaki manor. Everything related to the Uzumaki clan that Konoha has or that we recovered from Uzushiogakure is in the manor. Noone except an Uzumaki can access the manor, so we never saw fit to try to get anything from the manor." I grasp the key and put it in my pocket. Jiji pulls out a scroll. "This will lead you to the Uzumaki clan land. It borders both the Nara forest and the Aburame bug conservatory." I take the scroll as well.

"Why Jiji. Why did you never tell me?" I say with a bit of hurt in my voice. Tears start to escape from my eyes. I rub at them to clear my vision.

Jiji gets out from behind his desk and kneels at my height. He pulls me into a hug, and my arms wrap around him on instinct. "I wanted to Naruto, but I didn't want you to have a hope of a family when the Uzumaki clan was massacred. It would have killed me to see the light leave your eyes. I was going to tell you when you graduated from the academy when you are old enough to understand what happened. I am forever sorry for keeping this from you." He is rubbing soothing circles on my back.

"Okay, Jiji," I said between sniffles. "I forgive you."

Jiji pulls back and smiles. "Thank you, my boy. Now, how about you come back tomorrow after looking at the manor to celebrate. Now is there anything that you need from your old apartment?"

Jiji hands me tissues to clean my face as I think for a second. The apartment is pretty new, and I don't have anything of value there. "My old clothes and if you can, I would like my plants."

"Done."

"See you tomorrow Jiji." He waves me out, and I head in the direction of my new home.

It takes precisely twenty minutes to arrive at a big opposing gate where Jiji said it would be. There was no lock or anything on the gate, but it didn't look like it would budge. ' **Place your hand on the swirl in the middle, and the gate will open.** ' Saiken says. I do as told, and the gate glows blue before it swings open. As soon as I step through the threshold the gate closes. Well, at least I don't have to worry about people following me in. I take the insight of me. There are small whirlpools that block the path to a small stone path leading to another gate. I take a tentative step, but the whirlpools subside for me and close behind me. On the sides of both of the stone path are two small ponds with a whole ecosystem in it. I skip along the stones until I reach the open gate. 200 feet of the clear ground with a house at the end of the field. I guess this will be good for training. I ran the distance in small sprints, and by the time I made it to the building I was out of breath. I decide to take a small break to regain it. When I regained it I opened the door I am not expecting to see a huge living room. The house looks like a small little apartment, but it is at least ten times that on the inside. 'Saiken how is this possible.'

' **Through the use of expansion seals.** ' I cannot help but release a whistle. For the room itself, it has all different types of furnishing. And there is color everywhere from black to white. It is quite tasty. Adorning the walls are portraits of a bunch of people with red hair like me. I go to one of them, and it looks rather old. The name is Taku Uzumaki. 'Whoa isn't this the founder of the Uzumaki clan, the one to find the slug contract?'

' **Indeed** '

'Awesome.' I continue down the line of portraits I notice that the Uzumaki that have done incredible things have a white border with swirls around the portrait. For example, all of the kage, Taku, and Mito Uzumaki have these borders. Everyone else has a black border. I am nearing the end of the portraits when I happen upon another white border. 'Kushina Uzumaki.'

' **Your mother.** ' Saiken says.

I can't help the gasp that escapes. I run my hand lightly over my mother's picture. 'She looks so beautiful and so full of life. Kaa-chan.' I cry.

' **She loved you dearly. Her dying wish was to watch you grow up.** '

I tighten my hand into a fist. 'I'll make that bad man pay. A life for a life.' I declare.

Saiken brings me back to my previous emotional state by saying, ' **She wouldn't want you to live your life for revenge. Live for love, for the ones you will learn to love.** ' I nod at her logic. I will make my mother proud. There are four more portraits left, but unlike the previous portraits the border is red, the names read Nagato, Tayuya, Karin, and Naruto. It is sort of strange to see a picture of myself when I just arrived. Maybe the portraits are self-updating. ' **Hmm, these must be the last living Uzumaki's, well at least the ones that still go by the Uzumaki name.** '

'Maybe if we ask Jiji, we can track them down. Have them join Konoha and then we can be one big happy family.'

' **I agree with that plan. The more Uzumakis there are, the more I will be praised.** " Saiken says jokingly. I mentally shove her, which she returns. With a renewed vigor I check the next room, which happens to be the kitchen. I open the refrigerator to find fresh food. ' **A stasis seal?** ' Saiken suggests. I nod. The only other room on this floor at least is a tiny study. I make my way over to where I see a set of staircases, one leads up, and the other leads down. I go up and find four bedrooms including the masters along with three full bathrooms. Nothing was noteworthy about the rooms except they have with clothing that the Uzumaki clan favored, typically robes with long sleeves with mesh or armor. Up another flight is the library, and it is huge with thousands of scrolls ranging thousands of topics. I couldn't wait to start looking through it, but Saiken urges me to finish the tour. Going down the three flights of stairs to the basement, I find a massive vault with intimidating seals glowing on the front of it.

After getting confirmation from Saiken, I place my hand in the center of the door. The seals glow blue before receding. Six pieces that come together to create the Uzumaki clan symbol make up the door. Piece by piece the door pulls apart and leaves a circular opening. I step through to see with mountains piles of Ryo. I have never seen so much money in one place. Since I don't need money, for now, my eyes roam to a shelf with many different scrolls. On top of the rack is the word FORBIDDEN. Well, that explains why they are locked up in the vault. I continue to walk through the treasury and find many things such as Uzumaki armor, weapons, Oni masks, and treasures. One of such riches is thin like tube that rested on a pedestal to the very back of the vault. 'What is this Saiken?'

' **Ah, this is my bubble blower. My jinchuriki needed a conduit to use my bubble release, so I created this blower. Since then it has become the main weapon for my two other jinchuriki. There is a tradition that each jinchuriki adds a feature to the bubble blower.** '

'Wow, so Mito and my mother both used this blower?' I get a mental nod from Saiken. 'Cool.'

' **Yes, well you will not need it for a while, so it is best to leave it here before you accidentally lose it.** ' Saiken teases. I tell her that I wouldn't, but still, leave the blower on the pedestal before exiting the vault. As I leave, the door shuts, and the seals reactivate. Now back in the main living area, I notice a door. When I open it, I find that it leads to the backyard/ training yard. It was about 20 feet by 20 feet of grass with a small pond. There were dummies for taijutsu practice and targets for weaponry practice. 'Okay Naruto, now that you have fully explored the Uzumaki compound it is time for training.'

'Right do not hold back; I can handle it!' I yell.

' **Of that, I have no doubt.** ' She giggles. ' **Now for the first part, you will stretch for an hour. My style of taijutsu requires a high level of flexibility.** ' I nod with determination. ' **Then you will do 100 laps in the front yard. It is okay if you cannot complete all of them at once for now. It is less about the running but about building endurance, but with your level of stamina, I doubt you will have much trouble later on. You will have a medium sized lunch to replenish the lost energy. Finally, you will practice punching and kick the dummies on the post-1000 times per limb. Finishing this training will bring you to about dinner time. Once you finish eating and taking a shower, you will go to bed and train in your mindscape.** '

'Okay it sounds hard, but I will give it my all!' I do a small fist pump. 'So what does my mental training entail?'

' **You will learn four things. The first is general education like math and history.** ' I grumble a bit about how that is not ninja stuff. ' **While it is not necessarily ninja 'stuff' as you say, having this knowledge could be beneficial. For example, say Kumo ninja attacks you, it might help to have a bit of background information on Kumo, such as their typical ninjutsu natures, their clans, and the history between Konoha and Kumo.** ' I think about it for a bit and agree that having this information would be beneficial in the long run. ' **Then you will be learning calligraphy. Now caligraphy is very important in learning fuinjutsu, which your is one of the things that make your clan famous. I assume you would want to know about it.** '

'I want to learn everything and anything that my clan knows. Since there are only four of us left it is up to us to keep everything that the Uzumaki clan was alive.' I say with a spark of determination.

' **Good I approve. Now as I was saying caligraphy can make all the difference in a seal. If someone with bad caligraphy attempts to create a sealing scroll, she or he can change the meaning of the scroll, and all of a sudden it is an explosive tag. The next thing will be fuinjutsu.** ' She chuckled at my confusion. ' **You won't be learning how to create seals, but looking at the Uzumaki books on fuinjutsu. You will be familiarizing yourself on the common E-D rank seals. By the time you are ready to draw your first seal, you will have all of those ranked ones memorized. You will also learn the process of making ink, which is important in making seals. The last part of fuinjutsu is the basic mechanics. Why when we write the seal a certain way does it create this reaction. When you learn the mechanics, it will make it easier to either adjust seals or create your own.** '

'That sounds awesome. I cannot wait to start.'

' **I thought you would be excited to learn that. Now finally you will learn about chakra control.** '

'What is chakra?'

' **Chakra is a mixture of physical and spiritual energy. To raise one's physical energy one must train their body. To train one's spiritual energy, one must train their mind. Now the Uzumaki clan is famous for having tremendous amounts of chakra, add the fact that you are a jinchuriki means you have enough chakra to rival ten Kage's.** '

My jaw dropped. 'I must be so powerful.'

' **Not necessarily because this means you have terrible control over said chakra. Control is necessary not to waste chakra. Now imagine that your chakra is a faucet, and jutsu is the cup. Each jutsu requires a certain amount of chakra, so each jutsu has its size. Now no matter what jutsu you are attempting the water in your faucet runs out like a waterfall. For some jutsu, this will not do much except overpower the jutsu and waste chakra. But for the ones that have very tiny cups, it will mean that the jutsu will most likely not work. Control adds a filter to your faucet to control how fast and how much water is coming out of the faucet at one time. Does this make sense?** '

'I think I get it. So I want to have great control, so I don't waste chakra, and so I can use jutsu that require less chakra. If that is the case, I will not stop until I have perfect chakra control.'

' **While that is a great goal, it will be incredibly hard. You see as you drain your faucet your water reserves increases by a little. Because of this reason, I am starting chakra control exercises now, so by the time you graduate you can control a good portion of your chakra. Now to help you, I will be holding back 99% of my chakra so that you only have to focus on yours.** '

'You're the best Saiken.'

' **Why thank you.** '

'So when do we start?'

' **Now.** '

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I wake up to the sun on my face. I groan and roll over. I feel like the living dead. When Saiken told me that because of my training I would be mentally exhausted, I didn't think it would be this bad. 'Now Naruto you have to get up today, you have a lot to do today.'

'Like what.' I grumble.

'Well first off you need to meet the Hokage for breakfast.'

'Oh, I almost forgot about that.'

'Also you must invite the head family of the Nara and Aburame Clan over for lunch. Since they are your new neighbors, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get them a gift to create good bonds. They will most likely be your future comrades.'

'But I don't even know what either of them likes!' I mentally yell.

'Hmm well the Naras, are sort of lazy but intelligent. The Nara like anything to do with deer, medicine, and shogi. Now the Aburame are calm and collected. They think very logically and are the best at keeping their emotions in check. They like anything to do with bugs really.'

'Well, at least that narrows the list of things to get. Maybe I can look at the library, to see if we have anything that would be of interest to the neighboring clans.'

'Good. Now get up and take a shower.' I roll out of bed before making it. I open the closet, that has regular Uzumaki children clothes that I found in one of the smaller rooms, and take a simple kimono that is dark blue in color and loose. I then grab a pair of black shorts. I enter the bathroom. It has a long sink countertop with a medium sized mirror. The toilet is simple but has all the necessary functions. There is a cabinet with all toiletry needs. The shower itself is both a bath and a shower and is about average in size. I put my clothes on a hook and get out an orange towel. I then proceed to strip and take my shower.

After a twenty minute shower, I brush my teeth and get dressed. The kimono fits better than I expected. Its arms are a little long, but that is usual for Uzumaki clothing. The bottom of the kimono ghosts my ankles, and the sash keeps the kimono tight against my body. Since I don't have an undershirt a little of my chest shows, but that is okay. I like this outfit. The dark blue contrasts with my neck length red hair, and compliments my azure eyes. I smile and leave the bathroom. It is a quick five minutes to the front of the gate. It was around eight in the morning, so like yesterday there were not many people around. I have a feeling that I am going to be waking up every day. With a brisk walk, I make it to the Hokage's office.

I knock on the door, and open it when I hear, "come in." Jiji looks up from the paper he is reading. "Ah Naruto my boy, you are here a little earlier than I expected."

"Um, I can come back if you want?"

"Nonsense. This paperwork never ends, I think I deserve a nice break." He says standing up from his desk. He hands me a scroll. "This contains your clothes and all your plants. Although from your current attire I can only guess you found clothes and took a liking to them." He smiles when I give him a little twirl after I put the small scroll in my

"Yep, these are the clothes my clan wore so that I will wear them with pride."

"That is good Naruto. Now, what would you like for breakfast?"

"RAMEN!" I yelled. Ramen is delicious, but not very healthy. Saiken makes sure that I eat nutritious food as well.

Jiji laughs and says, "I guess I should have seen that coming." We make our way to a local ramen bar called Ichiraku. I have been there many times. The man that runs the shop along with his daughter is charming, and they are always willing to feed me if I run out of money, food, or both. I practically skip all the way to the booths.

"Ah, Naruto look at you. I love your new sense of style." Ayame teased. I blushed.

"It-it's the traditional clothing of the Uzumaki clan," I tell her.

"Well, it looks good." She then turns to Jiji. "Hokage-same, it is a pleasure to see you."

"Nice to see you as well, where is your father?"

"He is at the doctor's getting a checkup, at his age you cannot be too careful." Jiji nods.

"Well make sure to tell him hello from the both of us."

"I will." She grabs a notepad. "Now what will it be?"

"I would like one miso ramen, please. Naruto what would you like?" Jiji asks.

I scour the menu for ramen that has a little bit of nutritional value. The only real item is vegetable ramen. Oh well, at least it is ramen. "Can I get six bowls of vegetable ramen?"

Ayame gives me a bright smile. "Og course you can. I see that you are going to turn over a new leaf. The meals will be ready in five minutes." She bows and moves behind the blinds to make the ramen.

"So Jiji I have some questions?" He responded with an hmm. "Since I am the only member of the Uzumaki clan in Konoha, does that make me clan head or heir?"

"Well, the answer to that is a little complicated. To be an official clan in Konoha, you need about twenty-five members. While you can say that you are apart of the Uzumaki clan, you won't hold any status on the council. However, since the Uzumaki clan does exist you can be considered the heir. Do you understand?"

"I think so. So I am the heir of the Uzumaki clan, but I don't get any of the benefits from being in an actual clan."

"Exactly. Was there anything else that you wanted to ask?"

"Yes in the Uzumaki manor there are portraits of every Uzumaki including ones that are still living. There are currently four Uzumakis still alive today. I was wondering that if we happen upon them if you could allow them to live with me."

"Well, I don't see why not. If we run across the remaining Uzumaki clan members after some interviews, we will ask them if they want to join Konoha."

"Yatta!" I yell. Just then Ayame came out with our food.

"Order up, enjoy." Before digging in, we say our thanks. At first, I attacked the ramen with enthusiasm, but after a brief scolding from Saiken, I slowed down to a respectable level. Jiji and Ayame were impressed with my restraint. Throughout the meal, we talked about little things like how so and so was doing. It was nice. When I topped off my last bowl, Jiji laid money on the counter before saying goodbye and heading back to his tower.

With one thing crossed off my to-do list, I return to the Uzumaki manor. I place my scroll on the counter before I start my search for the perfect gifts for my neighbors. Thankfully the library was stocked with thousands of scrolls, but that also means that it will take a while to find what I want. I decide to start at the beginning and then work my way across. Each shelf has a slot with one scroll, unless we have a duplicate, in it, with the name of the scroll inscribed in the slot, so I will not get too confused.

It is about an hour later when I find something that might interest the Nara clan. It is a scroll on a light seal. It is relatively simple because all it does is produce a big light. It would be helpful for them to use so that they can increase the size of their shadow. I place it on a table and take the time to put all the other scrolls. Now I just need to find something useful for the Aburame clan.

Before that, I make a nice lunch consisting of beef and rice. Now that my energy is renewed I can put all my attention on finding a great gift. It is quite the process to find the best gift. Although the Uzumaki's are close to slugs, that does not mean we are neutral to bugs. A lot of the scrolls could be considered harmful to insects. But finally, I happened upon a seal that would attract insects to it. It is used as a trap, but this would be great for the Aburame. With the gifts finally selected it is time to introduce myself to the neighbors. Just as I arrive at the front door, suddenly the there is a ring in the house.

I look around for the source of the noise, but when I cannot find it, I consult Saiken. 'I believe that someone is at your front gate. From what I can remember that noise means that there are people at the front gate, but they have no malicious intent. If they wanted to harm the noise would be more alarming.'

'Ah okay, well I wonder who that could be.' It is a five minutes before I arrive at the front gate. When I peer through the slot in the gate, I see two families. One is entirely covered in hoods and wore dark sunglasses. There was a father, mother, and a little boy. The other family was lightly clothed, and the boys had pineapple shaped hair. The mother had long straight black hair. I touched the gate, and it opened. "Hello, who might you be?" I ask them.

"Ah hello my name is Yoshino Nara, and the clan noticed that you moved into the Uzumaki manor yesterday, and wanted to introduce ourselves." The woman with the long black hair says.

"The Aburame clan is here for the same reason. I am Shibi Aburame head of the Aburame clan."

"Oh well this is great, I was actually on my way to go see you guys. I guess since you are already here, why don't you come to my home."

"Oh, how sweet. At least someone has manners." Yoshino said. The man next to her mumbled something along the lines of 'troublesome women.'

"The Aburame clan will accept your offer," The female Aburame says.

"Okay it is a bit of a walk, so why don't we get to know one another," I say as I close the gate. "I'll go first. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I am the heir of the Uzumaki clan."

"Troublesome. I am Shikaku Nara; I am the head of the Nara clan. You already know my wife, Yoshino. Shikamaru is our son." He points to a boy that looks like he would rather be in his bed rather than here. Shikamaru for his greeting gives a lackadaisical wave.

"As for me I am Shibi's wife, my name is Shina. Shino is our son." Shina introduces. Their introduction is very straightforward.

"Okay are Shina and Shikamaru around my age?"

"If you are five then yes." Yoshino answers. The conversation dies out as we reach the house. "Your home looks lovely," Yoshino says examining the interior design.

"It is nice, but I had nothing to do with it. Can I get you guys anything to drink maybe some snacks."

"Oh let me help." The two females say at the same time.

"No you guys are guests. I am the host so that I will get the refreshments."

"It is no problem child," Shina informs. After another minute of debate, I finally let them help me, while the males all get comfortable in the living area. It takes us ten minutes to prepare tea and lemonade along with assorted meats and sandwiches. When the food is put down each person grabbed something to eat and drink. "So Naruto do you live in this manner by yourself?"

"Ah yes, the Hokage gave me the keys to the manner after I discovered my heritage."

"Won't it get lonely, and how do you sustain yourself?"

"Hmm well I just moved in, so I have not had any time to interact with anyone other than you guys. As for sustenance, the Uzumaki clan put preservation seals in the kitchen, so it is stocked with enough food to last a month, and I am the only one access to the family money, so if I need something, I can just buy it."

"Well, I extend an invitation to come over to the Nara clan anytime you want. I'm sure that Shikamaru would love to have someone to play with." I look over at Shikamaru, who is admiring the family portraits.

"I would love to come see you guys sometime in the future."

"The Aburame clan would like to extend the same offer, while our children don't tend to play, we offer our companionship."

"It is much appreciated. I would love to see all the different types of bugs you have." I receive a glimpse of a smile from the Aburame clan.

"Naruto you said that you were on your way to see us, why?" Shikaku asks. I nod and pull out the two scrolls.

"You see the Uzumaki clan is ancient and can be traced back to before the warring clan era. We were a strong clan with a bright future until we were eradicated." At this point, I walk along the portrait. "As of today, there are only four alive members of the Uzumaki clan, me and three other members." I gesture to the portraits of myself and three other people. "Now according to Konoha charter, a clan is described as a family of thirty members that have a quality that distinguishes them from another ninja."

"Since there are only four active members, only one of which is active in Konoha, you cannot be considered a clan." Shibi interrupts.

"Correct."

"But you said that you were the clan heir when you introduced yourself," Shikamaru says.

"Yes, it is because the Uzumaki clan is an established clan. The Hokage decided that I can claim to be the heir, but I won't be able to reap the benefits of being a clan, such as a seat on the council or even protection by law. If I bolster my numbers, then they will be given to me automatically."

"And this connects to us because you need allies?" Shina asked.

"Yes and no. While it is nice to call you all allies, I just wanted to open up a friendly relationship because I do not know what is expected of me as clan heir. Plus you guys are my neighbors, and I wanted to meet you all."

"I see, well we can help in those aspects. But what about the scrolls?" Shikaku questioned."

"These are for you, as an extension of my gratitude and wanting to be friends." I hand each head their respective clan. "Shikaku, your scroll is a simple fuinjutsu tag that creates a blinding light. It is straightforward to learn and use. I thought it would be great for the Nara clan considering that you use shadows as your ninjutsu. It is also more reliable than a flashbang because you can set it up beforehand."

"This will be most useful. Thank you, Naruto." Shikaku says as he pockets the scroll, which makes me smile.

"Now for yours Shibi, it is a fuinjutsu tag that when activated releases pheromones to attract bugs. It is also easy to learn to use and is quite versatile. There is a universal setting, which will attract all bugs in a certain radius, but there are also instructions on how to change the seal so that it attracts certain bugs. I thought it would be useful for your clan to study bugs, gather more, or even set a trap."

"It is a very thoughtful gift, and one that we appreciate."

"I am glad that you like your gifts." The conversation turned more casual as we talked about all matters of things. We were even able to bring Shikamaru and Shino into the discussion. Eventually, both families left around two.

When I got back to the house after escorting my neighbors out, Saiken says, ' **ready for your training?** '

'Bring it.' And with that, I began the training. I don't know why but these past two days will change my life forever.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Sorry about this being so late. I wanted to work on some other stories before updating this one. Okay now addressing the reviews. For those that said it was a bit fast, I apologize. I was excited about the story seeing as how the idea has been in my head for about two years now. I will slow down this chapter a bit.

A. Mizuki: I know. I wanted my Naruto to be a bit more mature for two reasons. The first one is that he is a bit more like Minato in personality than Kushina, while he looks more like her. The second reason being a defense mechanism. He has noticed the how others treated him and so matured more quickly because he realized that acting like a child is not going to help his situation. Now that he has Saiken, he will be a bit more laid back, but not too much that he is an entirely different person altogether.

To everyone else thank you for reviewing, it means a lot to me. This is an AU, so some of the events are different, or they happen at different times. I hope you enjoy. Now let's get on with the show. Disclaimer: I do not own anything about Naruto.

"Hurry up Shika," I yell through my hands. "We don't want to be late for our first day of the academy. I look at my overly lazy friend as he walks at the slowest speed he can go without standing still.

"Maa Maa Naruto the Academy doesn't start for another thirty minutes." He says through a yawn. "Why did you wake me up so early?" He says as he stands next to me.

"Because Shika, I know you. If no one woke you up, you would try your best to sleep all day." I grab his arm and march our way to a big building with the Konoha leaf on it. "C'mon we are almost there."

"Naruto what about Shino? We wouldn't want to start our first day without him right?"

"Shino is already there. He said, and I quote 'I will go to the Academy early. Why? Because I do not want to wait for Shikamaru to wake up.'" I say looking at him pointedly.

He looks at the ground at whispers, "troublesome." With no more arguments, he relinquishes control and allows me to drag him all the way to the academy.

In the courtyard are several families, who seem to be a mix of civilian, shinobi, and clan. I smile when I notice Shino over in the corner with his father. I continue to drag Shika to them ignoring his protests. "Good morning Shibi," I bow to him "Shino." They both nod to me.

"I see that you were successful in your goal to get Shikamaru here. Why? Because he is right there." I chuckle at Shino and his logicalness.

" **You do realize that is not a word.** " Saiken teases.

'Yes I know, but it explains Shino so well." I tell her before focusing on the conversation.

"So Shino anything interesting since we last saw you?" Shikamaru asks with another yawn.

"Yes, my father has finally allowed me to release my kikaichu into the atmosphere. Why? Because he believes that I should expose them to new stimuli." Shino responds. "And what about you two?"

"Maa, my father has finally agreed to play shogi with me. I was thoroughly beaten. Troublesome." He says with a little bit of annoyance on his face.

"Well, Saiken says that I can finally move onto tree walking since I mastered the leaf exercise." Shino and Shikamaru both know about the Rokubi. I told them a little over three months ago after an incident with my Biju training.

 **Flashback Start***

 _Usually, Saiken keeps all her Biju chakra at bay, for me to learn chakra control, but we wanted to practice on controlling the destructive chakra. Once we got the all clear from Jiji, he met us in the Uzumaki manor with a man with an ANBU mask._

 _"Why is he here Jiji?" I asked._

 _"Tenzo is here in case of emergencies. He has a Kekkei Genkai that allows him to neutralize Biju chakra." I nod. They both take a couple of leaps back for safety reasons._

 _"Okay, Saiken we are good to go."_

 _"_ _ **Okay, Naruto. I will start off by just letting a sliver of my chakra into your system. You don't feel any difference, except your control and you might feel a bit angrier. You see my chakra is very potent and pure, that it can drive anyone into a frenzy if they do not know how to control it.**_ _"_

 _"Okay. Let's do it." She was right that I wouldn't feel anything at first. But as she filtered more and more chakra, I lost control. Soon enough I was in my tail one version. I ultimately gave into the chakra. Saiken tried to pull her chakra back, but I refused. I was filled with an immense rage. I got tunnel vision and didn't remember after that._

 _What I do remember was waking up in the field with the Jiji and the ANBU standing above me. They told me that I tried to attack them, and I cried because while I was in that state, all I wanted to do was to hurt something. To rip something apart and revel in its blood._

 _"Naruto it is not your fault. Better men have tried to control a Biju and had no luck. But know that you know what it is like I promise that the next time you try to control the Rokubi's power, you will be able to." I just nodded into his shoulder as he rubbed soothing circles on my back._

 _"_ _ **I am sorry Naruto. I tried to reel back my chakra, but you subconsciously grabbed it and held onto it.**_ _"_

 _'It is not your fault Saiken.' I say through sniffles. 'We weren't ready yet.' The situation only got worse, because both the Nara and the Aburame clan felt the potent chakra from their compounds. Most of the kids were easy to persuade of just some random ninja training. But Shikamaru and Shino both knew better. No ninja train near these parts aside from the ninja in the clan or me. So the next time we met, I told them. I was so scared that they would abandon me. Walk away and treat me like the rest of the villagers, but Shika laid next to me staring at the clouds like he always does. And Shino sat near me albeit at a distance, but not far enough to be out of the standards for an Aburame._

 _"So what if you have the Rokubi, you are still our same Naruto. The Naruto that drags us out of our clan compounds to train with. The same Naruto that is content enough to watch the clouds with me. The same Naruto that is willing to look for new bugs with Shino. You haven't changed, only now we know more."_

 _"Yes, you are very similar to the Aburame. Why? Because we were both born with something dangerous if misused." I looked at both of them with astonishment. I released another cry before pulling them into a three-way hug. Both of them looked slightly uncomfortable but knew that I needed this, so said nothing._

 **Flashback End***

Since that incident, we have never been closer. "Tree walking. That is a very advanced chakra control exercise. Why? Usually, Genin learns it when they are assigned a team."

"Yeah I know, but since I have so much chakra, I need to be on top of my control to stay in the league of everyone else."

"I don't know why you try. That would be too troublesome." Shikamaru said with a disinterested face.

"Because Shikamaru, I don't want to waste my chakra if I can help it," I say after giving him a light push which almost toppled him over.

"Well Shino, I leave you in the capable hands of the Academy. I expect a detailed explanation of what you did today. Naruto. Shikamaru." We all give our goodbye before Shibi walked out of the courtyard. The other parents drifted away as soon as two Chunin exited the building with multiple papers. They put them on a prominent bulletin outside. We all got closer to see what it was. **Class Roster: Class 1A: Shino Aburame**. It was the class list. Shika and I scoured the listings to find our names. We were also in Class 1 along with several clan heirs and civilians. The chunin instructor was a man named Iruka Umino with an assistant named Mizuki no last name.

Shino is the first to wander into the building with Shika and me following behind. We enter the classroom and sit in the very last row with me in the middle. Slowly people start trickling in. Choji Akimichi sits next to Shika and starts up a conversation as Shino, and I play with his kikaichu. From the people seated I see the Hyuga heiress, with her lavender colored hair and pupil-less eyes. Then there is Ino from the Yamanaka clan. Also, there is a boy with red triangles on his face with messy brown hair. He must be the Inuzuku heir. There is also a boy with obsidian colored hair with the Uchiha fan on his shirt. Other than that no one else is noticeable other than a girl with a pink mane and a prominent forehead.

After everyone is settled, a chunin with a scar running across his nose and brown hair. Next to him was another chunin with a bandana around his silver hair. "Okay everyone, welcome to your first day of the academy. My name is Iruka Umino, and this" He says while gesturing to the man next to him, "is Mizuki. We will be your instructors for the next five years of your life. Now today will be more of an overview of what you will be doing with your five years here." He goes over to the board and starts to write. "Now year one is purely theoretical. We will teach you how to read, write, and math if you already don't know how. We will also be teaching you the history of Shinobi, specifically Konoha. Other than that you will also focus physical exercise and team building."

There was a physical groan from almost all civilian kids. Iruka waves everyone off. "I know it might not be overly fun, but everything you learn might be important one day. Now moving on, in year two we will continue to focus on physical activity and teamwork. However, we will also incorporate taijutsu and weapons. You will also learn chakra theory towards the end of that year as well as the hand signs." This got more of a reaction out of the students.

"For the third year, we will unlock your chakra on the first day." This shocked me because I know for a fact that clan kids already have their chakra unlocked. This puts civilian kids and some shinobi kids at a severe disadvantage. "We will teach you the basics of control while also teaching you the academy three. You will still be focusing on everything from year three as well." More excitement was released in the form of yells. Of course, everyone will be excited about ninjutsu.

"Calm down class," Mizuki said several times before everyone went silent. "Now the fourth year you will be taught some low-level genjutsu and how to break them. Other than that it will be more refinement of your skills. The last year will be a review of everything. So be prepared because we will be covering four years of material in one year. It will be very fast paced."

"Also, there are several after-school extracurriculars that we offer. Every student must take and pass one extracurricular class to graduate from the academy." Iruka erased the board and wrote the classes down, while Mizuki handed out papers with the class list and yes and no boxes next to each class. When Mizuki handed me my paper, I could feel the hatred wafting from him. Great day one and one of my teachers already hate me. "The first class will start directly after this one ends. Monday through Friday from 4 pm. to 6 pm. we have the Medic class. There are extra Medical classes on the weekend that are held at the hospital for those that choose to do so from 12-8 pm. This class is for someone who wants to be either a field medic or a doctor. You will learn the ways of the Iryo ninjutsu and help comrades to fight another day." I heard some signs of interest from the female students

"The next class is the taijutsu class. This class will not start until halfway through the second year. This is because one of the requirements is to have learned the academy style. These classes will be on Monday and Tuesdays from 4 to 6 pm. Here you will learn to create your style or get help finding a style that will suit you." Before Iruka could move on the girl with pink hair raised her hand. "Uh yes, Sakura."

She stands and asks, "If we choose this class, how will we know when to attend?" before sitting down again.

"That is a great question Sakura. Each of you got a sheet, and you will check of the class you want to attend. You will then give it to me, and I will notify the class when an extracurricular class starts and who said they would like to attend." The answer seemed to satisfy her, so Iruka moved on. "Next is Genjutsu. This class will be held in your fourth year from Wednesday to Thursday from 4-6 pm. This class will teach you more advanced genjutsu along with different ways to break them."

Mizuki took the next class. "We also have ninjutsu, which will be a class to help you control your chakra and teach you some ninjutsu that is low level, that will help you. This class is on Thursdays and Fridays from 6-8 pm. They will start in year three." From where I sit, I could see a small smirk form on the Uchiha's face.

"Last but not least is the kenjutsu classes. This class is on Saturday and Sunday from 8-10 am. It will start in the second year after learning to use weapons. You will learn the basics of handling a sword, but be warned you will not get to hold live metal until after you graduate. Now if you didn't already notice, almost none of these classes interfere with one another, so you could potentially take more than one or even switch your class. Please take about five minutes to make a decision." With that Iruka focused his attention on writing out the first lesson on the board. I looked at my options, but they all seemed beneficial. 'Saiken, what do you think I should do?'

' **Well, taijutsu would be of no use to you, because you will be learning the slug style, and no one knows that except Tsunade Senju.** '

'Okay so that is out, but what about the others?'

" **Genjutsu would be a great supplementary tool, and you have imagination in spades, but you might not have the subtle chakra control needed to be able to perform them well. You will learn most of your ninjutsu from me and or your sensei, so it makes no sense to attend those classes. What I think would be beneficial is the medical classes.** "

'But I thought you said that my chakra control would not be good enough for genjutsu, so why iryo ninjutsu?'

" **Well for one I said subtle chakra control. For genjutsu to work, it is best if the target doesn't know that they are in one, but your chakra is very dense, and someone could easily feel the invasion. Iryo ninjutsu does not require subtlety. Besides, the Uzumakis are great healers. There are a vibrancy and life that is infused into your very chakra. Just biting into your skin could heal someone. Once you learn to control most of your chakra, then you will be able to do any iryo ninjutsu."**

"Okay so I will do that," I say checking off the medical classes. "What about the kenjutsu classes? They won't interfere with my medical classes."

" **I don't see why you can't do both. It might be to your advantage to have these lessons.** " I nod and think a thank you before also checking off the kenjutsu classes.

"So what are you guys going to do?" I ask my two companions.

"Troublesome. I guess genjutsu would be good. If my enemies didn't see my shadow, it would be easier to catch them." Shikamaru says from in between his arms.

"Hm, I choose taijutsu. Why? Because my family is not known for their taijutsu capabilities, so taking this class will cover a weakness I have."

"What about you Naruto? What did you choose?" Shikamaru says while peaking through a gap in his arms.

"Oh, I choose the medical and the kenjutsu classes."

"Of course you would choose two classes. Especially since those are the hardest classes that the academy offers."

"Well, the Uzumaki have been known to excellent healers. And who knows maybe knowing how to wield a sword can save my life." Shika just grunted before closing the gap in his arms.

"Naruto is right. Why? Because every piece of knowledge can be valuable."

"Thank you, Shino." Shika ignored the comment. Before anything could be repeated, Iruka and Mizuki collected the papers. When all the documents were received, they were put into the professor's desk. Then we were all given a notebook.

"Okay class these are your official academy notebooks. You may take notes in these and nothing else. Now if you can open to page one, we can get started with the lesson on how Konoha was created." I tapped Shika to make sure that he was paying attention, he tried to ignore me, but I just kept touching him, so eventually, he sat up. As Iruka talked about his lesson more, I started to frown. Saiken already taught me all this stuff.

" **You already know most of what is going to be taught in the Academy. May I suggest you take this as an opportunity to train. You can work on your calligraphy with your right hand and do chakra control exercises in your left.** " I nodded and pulled out a handful of leaves from my pocket that I always have on me. I add a leaflet to each finger and then stuck the rest all over my hand until my hand was covered. Then I used my chakra to lift the fronds gently and slowly spin them. I did all this while taking notes and writing everything as neatly, but as quickly as I could. Most of the class was like this, with me practicing chakra control and calligraphy. At 3:30 Iruka dismissed us. I waved goodbye to Shika and Shino and waited with all of the other medical class students. I noticed that Sakura and the Yamanaka heir were among the group.

The group was mostly female with three boys, myself included. We decided to take the thirty-minute break and have lunch. I made a medium-sized bento out of scroll that I found in the library. The meal time was quick with little interaction between any party except Yamanaka and Sakura. When the thirty minutes was up, an older woman with a jounin green flak jacket entered. We rose to greet her, and once she waved at us, we sat down.

"Good evening all my name is Hikari. I will be your instructor for the next five years if you choose to continue down the path of a medic. We will start with introductions, but first, everyone moves up to the front of the class." A couple of shuffles and we were all seated next to one another. I was in between Yamanaka and one of the other males. "Good, now as I said introductions. My name is Hikari, as you already know. I am a jounin field medic. In fact, I am the second best field medic in Konoha behind Tsunade Senju. I have retired during the times of peace to teach the next generations. Now I want you to tell me your name and the reason for deciding to be a medic." She points to one of the civilian girls, and she explains why she wants to become a medic. Mostly the answers are very typical, for example, I don't want to hurt anyone, or it seemed the easiest out of all the options. I swear civilians are the most idiotic people ever. Iryo ninjutsu is like the hardest branch of jutsu to master.

Only Sakura and Ino, who I know the name of, gave adequate answers of wanting to help people. When Hikari finally got to me, I stood. "Hi, my name is Naruto Uzumaki." At the mention of my name all of the civilian kids tensed up. I assume it is because their parents told them to avoid me at all costs. If I didn't have Shika or Shino, I might have been saddened by this fact. "I want to be a medic because the Uzumaki's were known to be great medics. And since there are not many of us left, I don't want the tradition to fall out." Hikari looked very inquisitive.

"Oh, it is to my understanding that Uzumaki has to do extensive chakra control exercises before they could do iryo ninjutsu. Where are you at in chakra control?"

"I mastered the leaf chakra control exercise and will be moving onto the tree walking exercise soon." Ino and Hikari looked slightly impressed.

"Hmm, that is good, but not good enough. I want you to have mastered water walking before I allow you to do iryo ninjutsu on a live person."

"Yes Sensei," I say. Sakura suddenly raises her hand. The sensei gives her permission to ask her a question.

"Um sensei, Iruka-sensei just told us that we aren't supposed to access our chakra until year three, but Naruto already seems to have access to his chakra. Why?"

"The reason is mostly civilian. You see civilians do not have the body fit enough to be a shinobi. Sure they can overcome those limitations through training, but it is not innate. Children of shinobi or clans tend to have already large reserves, which means they can access it at an early age. On the other hand, civilians have no such advantage, so they have to wait for their chakra pool to grow to access it safely." Hikari-sensei's words only seemed to create a gap between the civilian kids, and Ino and I. Seeming to have sensed the tension Hikari-sensei continues with the lesson. "Now that we are well-acquainted let's go over the curriculum. The first year you will be learning about anatomy. To be a competent medic, you must know everything and anything about the human body. You must know what happens if I slice this tendon, what happens to this limb.

In your second year, we will be working with poisons and antidotes. You will also be able to work on animals. And don't worry, these animals will be dead already. The purpose of doing this is to get a first-hand experience with operations in general, but also to apply your anatomy lessons. Any questions?"

There were none, but some of the civilian kids looked very put off. If they decided to stay, they might not finish. "Now the third year is when you will start learning iryo-ninjutsu. We will teach you specific chakra controls that will help make your control precise. But don't use this as a crutch. You should always be practicing chakra control. At the end of the third year, you will be given the Revival test. If you can successfully revive a dead fish, then you will be able to move past the next level. If you cannot, then you will be dropped from the program, until you can."

This seemed to weaken the resolve of many people. "Now the last two years, will not be held in the academy, but in the hospital. The fourth year you will be working on small cases such as healing kids and minor injuries.

In the fifth year, it will be split. The first half you will work with an established doctor, on significant operations. Prove to be competent then you will be able to operate on your own. Also, you will continue to learn and perfect your iryo ninjutsu. Any questions?" I raised my hand. "Yes, Naruto?"

"What is to be expected for the extra classes on the weekends?"

"Ah, great questions. For the first three years, you will just be shadowing a doctor on their rounds. You will watch, how they handle patients, how they diagnose patients, and how they treat patients. The classes are designed to help teach you, so don't be startled when the doctor tests your knowledge. As for the fourth and fifth year, the classes on the weekends are mandatory. For the fourth year, it is not as serious, but you are expected to come in and complete the tasks given to you. However, in the fifth year, you will be treated like a doctor and will be filtered into the rotation. You will be given schedules that work for you, but do be expected to get called in at the drop of a hat." As I looked around, I could tell that many of them would drop out.

"Now I know that this is a hard course, in fact, every year about only three people graduate every year." Her eyes ghosted over us all but seemed to linger on Ino, Sakura, and I. "All I ask is that you give it you're all. Now if you graduate, you will be given a certificate saying that you are a certified medic. If you continue as a genin, then you will not be required to volunteer at the hospital, unless you want to. However, you have to come in every year, to take a proficiency test to prove, that you still have the skills to be a medic. If you choose, to not continue your career as a genin, then you will be offered a job as a doctor at the hospital." With her little spiel done she gave us a thick notebook. "These are your notebooks; it is for you to use at your leisure." She started to draw on the board. "Now for the first lesson we are learning about the digestive system."

That is how our first medical class began, an hour later we had done a complete walkthrough of the digestive system. Tomorrow Hikari-sensei said we would learn about common diseases that could affect the digestive system. When the class let out, there were several parents here to pick up their kids. I didn't pay them much mind as I made my way to the Uzumaki compound. I had to be quick because today is the day I host dinner.

I made it back to my home in about ten minutes, and I got out the ingredients for today's dinner. While I was preparing the food, a panel close to the front door glowed. I tapped it and soon heard the voice of Yoshino. "Naruto we are here open up!"

"Yeah come on through." I tapped the seal at the front door and added a bit of chakra to disable the seal at the front gate to allow them through. I found this seal about three months after moving in. Since the Nara's and Aburame's come over at least three times a week, I started looking into ways to allow them into the compound without me having to run all the way to the front gate. Saiken says that it is Shikamaru rubbing off on me, but I digress. I found this little beauty and ever since never had to open the gate manually. It took about a minute or two for the two families to cross the distance from the gate to my front door. Yoshino and Shina were at the front of the group with Shino and Shika in the middle, with their fathers bringing up the rear. "Hello, oh you brought rice and vegetables, thanks this will go well with the meat that I have been preparing."

"Oh it is no trouble, now let's relocate to the kitchen, while the men relax in the dining room." I nod and follow them. It has become a ritual ever since our first meeting. Each day one of the families hosts the dinner at one of our houses. Except on the weekends, which the Nara clan spend with the Yamanaka and Akimichi clan. On those days I generally hang out with Shino. Sometimes though, Shikaku and Shibi won't attend because of ninja business. But the dinners are nice they brought us all together. The men hang out playing games like shogi or go. The women and I cook in the kitchen. Yoshino and Shina have taught me so much about cooking before I could only really cook basic meals, but now I can say that I have a variety of recipes to choose from. When the food is all set, we generally talk about random things until we finish.

Yoshino snaps me out of my thoughts when she starts to cut up the vegetables that she brought while Shina finishes marinating the meat that I was preparing. I get several glasses from my cabinet. I fill three of them with water, and the last I leave empty. I then grab a Sake bottle, that Shikaku brought. I take the drinks out and set the water by the boys and Shibi. Shibi doesn't like to drink because he says that it irritates his hive. I place the bottle of Sake next to Shikaku, who is currently kicking his son's butt at shogi. Shikaku gives me an appreciative look. Being a jounin commander never mind a jounin is a difficult job, so I don't care that he drinks in my house.

Once the drinks are served, I head back into the kitchen to help with the meal. Soon we have an assortment of meats, vegetables, and a lot of rice ready to eat. When we start to eat Shina asks us how our first day at the academy is. "It was too troublesome," Shikamaru says.

"Shikamaru you find everything troublesome."

"I agree with him. The curriculum is very civilian. The things that we will learn theoretical wise, most shinobi kids already know. And the skills that they are going to teach us will be taught to most of us two to three years prior. I think when we graduate that there will be such a gap between civilian kids and shinobi kids, that it is scary."

Shikaku rubs his entire face. "That is to be expected. The reason that the academy is so behind is that we are at peace. Since we aren't fighting any other village, we can afford to be laxer in our teachings. But the curriculum is so terrible because the civilian council grabbed a lot of power between the time that the fourth Hokage died and the Third was reinstated. The idea is that the kids in the academy are all technically civilians and not shinobi, so they are not under the Hokage's direct jurisdiction even though the Academy's purpose is to prepare them to be a ninja. The curriculum has to be filtered through the council. They dumbed it all down to allow for more civilian kids to become a ninja. To retaliate against this, the Hokage created the extracurricular programs as a graduation requirement. The civilian council couldn't fight this because technically while you are still civilians, you need to pass the test to become a ninja, so the test is completely up to him. He hopes that by having these extracurricular classes, he can make some semblance of fit ninja to become a part of his task force."

"The civilian council is so stupid. The Hokage must realize that by dumbing the curriculum down that, it is going to make for incompetent ninja, which will lead to them either not passing or their deaths."

"No one said that the civilian council was smart, kid."

"If the Hokage controls the graduation test, then why doesn't he make it harder?"

"If he did no one would pass, because they were not trained to take a harder test."

"Exactly, it means that the only ones that would pass would be the ones that are worthy. Sure the first year that you administer it, there might not be any graduates, but eventually it would make its way through the grapevine that the graduation exam is hard, so the people who want to pass will train harder outside of class and those who do not take their training seriously will either fail or drop out." Shikaku thought about it for a bit.

"You might be right. I will bring it up to the Hokage at our next meeting."

"Thanks a lot, Naruto, now our exam is going to be even more troublesome."

"I think it is a great idea. Why? Because this way it guarantees that the next generations of ninja are competent." Shino adds

"I mean could you imagine it? If the next generation is incompetent, and they somehow survive long enough to become a jounin and take a team. They are going to teach them mediocre things, so then their students are even worse than they are. The cycle will continue until we are the weakest village of the five."

"Naruto makes a good point. Why? Because a ninja village is only as strong as its weakest link." Shibi said before taking a sip of water.

"Well to take a step away from the morbid side. What were the extracurricular classes that you signed up." Yoshino asks

"I signed up for genjutsu so that I could ensnare people in my shadow easier."

"That was an excellent choice Shikamaru. I am glad that Naruto is rubbing off on you. I thought you would pick something like taijutsu or ninjutsu, which are the easier classes of the five." Shikaku says. Shikamaru didn't reply in favor of eating a piece of pork.

"I chose taijutsu. Why? Because it is my biggest weakness."

"Very logical," Shina says to Shino.

"And what about you Naruto? What did you choose?" Yoshino asks while picking up some of the empty dishes. Shibi and Shukaku also help grab plates.

"Oh, I chose the medical and kenjutsu classes?"

"Oh, those are the two hardest classes. One requires extreme chakra control and the other extreme discipline."

"Yeah, I am sure I can make it work though. I don't quite know if I will have a use for kenjutsu, but it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."

"Very ninja of you. I do not doubt that you will excel in both of those classes." Shina adds. I smile at the praise. When the dishes are put in the dishwasher, we relax in the living room talking about things from the local gossip to stories from Shikaku and Shibi, genin days. When the clock strikes eight, both of the families leave with goodbyes.

As I close the door, I hear ' **Are you ready for your training?'** I nod and head to the backyard and stand near a tree. ' **Okay, Naruto Tree Walking is just as the name says you will use your chakra to stick to the surface of a tree and then walk. Now to do this, you have to send chakra through your feet, which is the hardest place to maintain chakra.'**

'Okay, so how do I know if it works?'

' **If you use too little chakra then you will slip off the tree. If you use too much chakra, then you will blast off. The benefits of this exercise are that if you master it, then you will have control of about roughly 40% of your chakra. To master this technique, you must be able to fight somebody for two hours without falling off the tree.'**

I mentally nod. 'Okay, how do I start?'

' **Most people will tell you to run at the tree, but this is a good way to hurt yourself. Also, you might not be able to accurately gauge how much chakra was too much or too little, because you will also be focusing on running. I suggest you lay on the ground and put your feet on the tree. Start by slowly sending chakra to your feet. If it is not enough, then add more if it is too much then lessen it. Once you find that median, then you can start walking. From that point, it is less about how much chakra, because you already know, but more about maintaining it while moving and thinking about other things.'** Saiken orders.

'Gotcha.' I lay on the ground and do just as she asks. At first, it was hard because I would have too little, so when I added more, it was too much, and then I would get blasted away. So I would try again. Slowly but surely, I started to narrow down the sweet spot. However, when I got too frustrated, Saiken told me to do my routine work out for a half hour. It was ten at night before I was able to stick to the tree successfully. Saiken said that was enough, and to take a shower and head to bed.

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It has been three months since the first day of the academy. It has been a productive three months. The academy itself is annoying and hardly fun. I practiced my calligraphy for the first two months, until Saiken said, that I had mastered writing neatly and quickly. So instead of paying attention to the lecture, I was able to start making seals. The Uzumaki manor had books: Beginner, Intermediate, Expert, Master, and Sage. In class, I would look at the beginner seals and copy them down over and over again, with regular ink not infused with chakra. I would wait until I got home to soak the ink to see if I created the seal. In the beginner seals, it was nothing to hard, mostly just storage, cleaning, and modifying seals. Besides creating seals, I would continue with the leaf chakra control exercise. While it was still useful for fine tuning chakra control, I could feel my control plateauing.

The other aspects of the Academy were also redundant. The physical aspect was too easy. They would make us run twenty laps around the academy, and then do about a hundred reps of regular exercises like pushups, crunches, pull-ups, etc. The shinobi kids were able to do these exercises without any problem, but the civilian kids always complained and took the longest. It was a joke Saiken has me do ten times that amount of activity daily.

The team exercises are alright. My absolute best teamwork is when I am paired with Shikamaru and Shino. I have okay collaboration with Hinata, the Hyuga heir, Ino, and Choji, the Akimichi heir. We don't always mesh great, but we can work with each other to get the 'mission' done. I have terrible teamwork with Kiba, the Inuzuka heir. His belief that he is the Alpha dog doesn't quite match up with his skill. He clashes with me on occasion, when I offer a plan. He says my plans are stupid, and that he would be making the plan. He will then proceed to tell my plan, but with different words. I learn to ignore my annoyance and complete the mission. We have a 50% rate of success. Below that are civilian kids. They outright do not want to work with me. I suspect that it is due to the influence of their parents. I still, however, can get the mission done, so while it is terrible, it is not a 0. The two people I absolutely cannot work with are Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. Apparently, over the three months that we have been attending this academy, Sasuke has gathered a fan club of fan-girls, with Sakura as the president. Whenever I get paired with them, not only do they refuse to work with me they actively try to hinder our progress. I think it is because Sasuke is jealous. I have the current top ranking for the class, despite what Mizuki tries to pull, and Sasuke is not happy. Sakura being the fangirl that she has no problem following any instructions that were given to her by her precious 'beloved.' We have a success rate of 0%. What Sasuke fails to realize, is that everytime I get a 0, he gets one too. At least my other team scores are enough to keep me ahead of him because he has lousy teamwork skills.

My medical class has proven to be amazing. Every day I go, and I learn something new. The course is never dull, because Hikari-sensei, doesn't just lecture, she has practical portions. And the weekend classes that only Ino and I attend are amazing. Sure the patients are terrible people, but the staff is friendly. They treat me like a rational human being. These weekend classes have improved my relationship with Ino. Sometimes she invites me to the Ino-Shika-Cho cookouts because I am such good friends with all three heirs. The course itself has suffered four dropouts, three of these dropouts being the two males and two civilian kids. As it stands I rank first, Ino ranks second, and Sakura ranks third. The gap between Ino and Sakura is quite large, over 15%. While Sakura excels at the theoretical knowledge, she has yet to realize that being a ninja is more than just academic.

The last thing that happened at the academy was the announcement that the end of the year exam had been revised to the Hokage's standards. I was pleased to hear that only the people who are worthy could pass and become ninjas. The Hokage, also decreed that if you are to fail the exam, you have one whole year to train yourself outside of the academy to retake it, but if you fail it again, you will be dropped from the program. For those who fail once and pass, they will not be put on a team at first but will be placed in the genin corps, which are people who are reserves. They will be given a counselor, who they can ask for guidance, but that is about it. Once they have proved that they have what it takes to be a regular ninja, a team will be created out of the genin corps, and they will be given a jounin sensei, so it is not all bad. For those that fail twice, they can still work in the shinobi force in one of the branch corps such as T&I, the decipher corps, and or assistants. I thought that these plans would make Konoha strong again. There was also a decree that if a student had special circumstances that stopped them from achieving something, they could go to their instructor, who would bring the case to the Hokage, and he would deem if there were anything to be done or if the issue could be waived.

But outside of the Academy I finally mastered Tree Walking. Sure it only took me a week to walk up the tree, but it took longer to stay on the tree for more than two hours without losing my concentration. When I was finally able to do it, I asked Shibi, if he could help me master the last step. Now I am no prodigy in taijutsu, so Shibi had to lower the speed and strength of his attacks. But finally two weeks later I was able to last a whole two hours. I was so excited that my chakra spiked and I was launched all the way to the pond in the front yard. Shibi helped me out and congratulated me.

Currently, I was out buying groceries because I am running low. My Iryonin class ended about two hours, but I wasn't able to buy anything due to a celebration. A jounin from Kumo came to sign a treaty with Konoha, and everyone in the village was excited to put the hostilities to rest finally. Since everyone was buying things, I wasn't able to get what I needed. I usually do my shopping late at night anyway, since only the shops that run late are the only shops the will sell to me or sell to me at a reasonable price.

I scour the shops to find what I want, but most of the stocks were sold because of the impromptu festival. I managed to scrape up enough food to last a week, before deciding to call it quits. The moon was high in the sky it was quite beautiful to watch. However, it was due to the luminosity of the celestial body that I was able to see a black figure jumping away from, what I remember as the Hyuga district. I wouldn't question it any other day, because it might just be a ninja leaving for a mission, but it was something about how this figure moved, in combination to the large bag that seemed to be continually shaking. I decided that I would follow from a distance.

Although I couldn't quite hop from building to building, I could quickly follow the person on foot. Soon enough the person, who turned out to be a man stopped. "Damn it, how do you get out of this stupid village, I knew I should have gotten directions when I was here earlier. He threw the bag down and out came a squeal, but not just any squeal, that is Hinata. I recognize it when anyone tries to talk to her. I lay my groceries on the ground and prepare to intervene; another figure jumped onto the scene.

"Unhand my daughter you thief!" I turned to see Hiashi Hyuga, just as he catapulted himself towards, the thief. When the thief turned, I saw the Kumo headband on his head reflect the light illuminated from the moon. What happened next, could only be considered a battle of the caliber of elite jounin. They were attacking each other with ferocity, I could not achieve, but no attack seemed to land. They were both too good. I used their fight as a perfect distraction. I snuck my way over to the discarded bag that held Hinata, and quickly untied it. Hinata tried to strike me, but I quickly caught her hand. "Hey Hinata it is okay, we need to hurry before they see us," I whispered. Hinata instantly calmed when she saw my face.

"N-naruto, how did you find me?" Before I could answer her question, I was kicked to into the side of a building. I clutched my head, that was now bleeding and tried my best to reduce the black that has invaded my vision.

"You little brat." I could only assume the Kumo ninja said as he picked me up and threw me into the opposite building. I could barely open my eyes because of the force of both blows. I could hear Saiken yelling at me to take her chakra, but I couldn't. I couldn't control it. I wouldn't be able to stop myself if I got the scent of either Hyuga. I pushed myself up to stand but immediately fell. "Oh lookie here, the boy still has some fight in him. I tried one more time to get up and just barely made it to my feet. I slowly opened my eyes. "Well, he won't survive this." I saw the Kumo ninja rushing at me. I know that he was moving faster than I could see, but time seemed to slow down. The closer he got the more frozen I felt. I don't. I don't want to die. There is so much that I wanted to do. He is getting closer by the second. I can't do anything but scream. "AHHHHHHHHHH!" I yell out. Then I feel it, a warm liquid slowly spreading down my body. I fall to the ground. Is this it? Am I dying? I thought it would hurt more. I don't feel anything. I feel quite weightless actually. ' **NARUTO!** ' Saiken? But why would I hear her if I am dying? Slowly everything starts coming back to me. The pain in my head, from when I hit the building. The ache in my back from when I collided with the wall. If I'm not dead, then what happened?

I try to open my eyes, but they are heavy. I fight through the tiredness and slowly open them. At first, all I can see is the color of night. Then I finally notice it, RED. There are huge puddles of red all around me. The warm liquid coats my hands and has started to harden and flake at my fingertips. Slowly my gaze rises, and I wish that it hadn't. Standing above me nearly two feet from my face is the Kumo ninja, but what terrifies my core are the three big bulky chains that have skewered through him and into the wall of a building. One has pierced through his upper chest, where the lungs and the heart where. Another had penetrated his lower abdomen. I could see some of his organs still attached to the end of the chain. The last chain, however, has gone through his neck into his cranium and out the skull, but it surprisingly left the face intact.

I vomited all that I had in my stomach right into the pools of blood and cried and shrieked. It took a full ten minutes to stop sobbing and screaming, but that is only because the Anbu, arrived and shut me up. I felt numb and cold. They kept asking me questions, but I was frozen. The look of horror and shock etched on the man's face. He didn't stand a chance. One second he was alive and the next dead. I could feel Saiken trying to talk to me, but I blocked her out. I just wanted to roll into a ball in the darkest pit of the earth and die. I can't unsee that. My first kill and I am not even a ninja. I watched as the Anbu took the chains out, and the lifeless man fell to the floor with a thud. The chains then slowly receded into my skin, and I felt even more like a monster. I felt someone pick me up and felt the breeze hit me as they raced me to some unknown place. I just focused on the moon. So innocent and full.

It didn't hit me that I was in Jiji's office until I felt the warm embrace that was oh so familiar. Without hesitation, I released all the pent up emotion that I thought. I could tell he didn't know what to do. How do you comfort a kid that just went through what I did? Jiji just rubbed soothing circles on my back, it wouldn't fix what I did, but it was lovely. Made me feel like less of a monster.

I don't know how long we sat there before Jiji finally spoke. "Do you want to talk about it Naruto?"

"Am I a monster?" I whisper.

Jiji sighed at the question. "No Naruto you are not."

"But I killed that man. You didn't see him Jiji. He was eviscerated." Another round of sobs overtook me as I remembered the grotesque form of the ninja from Kumo.

"Yes, but Naruto did you want to kill him?"

"NO! I never wanted to hurt him. I just wanted to help Hinata." I say wiping some of the tears from my eyes.

"And would this man have killed you had you not done so first?" I couldn't answer. Jiji took my silence as a yes. "Then what you did was in self-defense."

"How did I kill him?" I ask. I know that chains killed him and that they seemed to come from me, but I didn't see how they appeared.

"When your body sensed the danger mixed with your innate will to live you seemed to have woken up the Uzumaki bloodline. The bloodline allows one to create chains made of chakra to protect, attack, and seal. Generally, the bloodline is in girls, so we are not quite sure how you unlocked it."

"Could it have been Saiken?"

"Yes, the Rokubi's influence could have very well been the cause."

"How do I deal with it?"

"With what my boy?"

"Killing? Does it get better or easier? Will it change me?"

Jiji seemed to think about his next words. "You deal with it one day at a time. At first, it will be hard. Anything and everything will remind you of what happened. But slowly you will be able to move on from this event. You won't be able to forget it, but you will be able to deal with it. I'm afraid that killing does get easier the more that you do it. But you have to remember Naruto, to not let it consume you. As long as you don't enjoy killing, then you should be fine. This experience has changed you, but it is up to you on how it defines you." I blink at his words not understanding them. "You will understand in due time Naruto. But for now, I want you to have an appointment with the Yamanaka clan every day after your extracurricular classes. They will help you work through it."

"Okay." I nodded still a little numb from it all.

"I know that right now you only see the negatives to this experience, but you also did some good."

"How?" How can I kill a man be any good?

"Well for starters, you helped save the life of Hinata Hyuga. You see the Kumo ninja before you killed him," I flinched at the words. "Was trying to take Hinata back to Kumo, where she most likely would have been experimented on and then finally used to start a Hyuga clan there." I gulped at the thought of stuttering nervous Hinata in Kumo all alone. "Also, Hiashi Hyuga probably would have been dead if not for you. Thankfully he was only knocked out. You saved two lives of your comrades. While this doesn't take away what you did, it might help you deal with it. If you were a ninja, I would have made this an A rank mission. In fact, if you still want to become a ninja, it will be put on your transcript as soon as you become a genin."

Do I want to become a ninja? I do not like killing people, but if I didn't murder him a lot of harm could have happened. Well if I don't want to kill anyone, then I will have to get stronger. I nod at my resolve. "I will become a ninja. But I will do it my way. I will use my power for good and to bring about an age, where people don't need to fight anymore."

"Ah, my boy that is a mighty fine goal. If I remember correctly, the Yondaime Hokage, also wanted to bring about world peace. In fact, it was the goal of the Shodai Hokage as well Are you sure that you can do, what they couldn't?"

I nod furiously. "I will sure! I will surpass all of the Hokage and bring peace to this world."

Jiji laughs and pats my head. "I am sure you will Naruto, but for now you need to rest. Shikaku is here to take you to his house. I don't want you living on your own until Inoichi says that you have the all clear." I nod, and the door opens, to reveal Shukaku.

He didn't do anything except kneel and open arms up. The swell of emotions that plagued me returned, and tears fell from my eyes once more. I raced toward Shikaku and jumped into his arms searching for comfort. Once I had my head in between his shoulder and his head, he rose. He hugged me with a fierceness I have never known. Is this- is this what it is like to be held in a father's embrace. The love that is embedded in the hug helped to dull the black that seemed to have surrounded my being. For once, the pain and fear didn't hurt so bad. I am so consumed by the fluctuation of my emotions; I didn't hear what Shikaku said to Jiji. I waved at him before Shikaku walked us out. The walk to the Nara Compound was silent, but it didn't feel lonely like other times.

I didn't realize that we were in Shika's room until I was set down next to him. He woke up immediately and noticed my tears. He pulled me close to him and fell back asleep. I appreciated the fact that he didn't act differently than he usually did. I shut my eyes tired from all the tears and exhausted from tonight's events. When my world turned black, I woke up next to a blue lake that is only so familiar to me. Immediately I am surrounded by bubbles that have a playful air about them. It was very comforting.

" **Naruto, my dear, you have been through so much.** " I could feel the tears in my eyes, but I was tired of crying. I forced myself not to cry. Then the slick tail of Saiken lifted my head to meet her's. " **Naruto as a ninja people do terrible things killing being one of them, but the absolute worse thing one can do is bottle their emotions.** "

"I-I'm not. I don't want to cry anymore. I want to get better."

" **And so you will. And I will be here every step of the way. If you want my advice, I say surround yourself with the ones you love. Love is a powerful emotion that can heal almost any wound.** " I nod. Images of Shika, Shino, Shikaku, Yoshino, Shibi, Shina, and Jiji all pop into my head. " **Good, now we won't be training for the next week to allow yourself to get some rest. But I do want to talk about the chains." I flinch at the mere mention of them. "I know that you have associated them with something bad, but they are neither good nor bad. They are what you make of them. The Uzumaki clan has done a lot of good with those chains of theirs. In fact, your mother saved a lot of people by sealing my with them on the day of your birth. If you want to learn to use them, I will teach you, but I understand if you don't.** "

"The chains are an Uzumaki birthright, and as I already promised to continue the legacy of all Uzumaki knowledge, I will use them. But for now, I am not ready. Maybe when I am stronger."

" **Okay Naruto, for now, get some sleep. I will keep your mind clear so that you won't get any nightmares.** " And with that, the world turned black again.

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It has been seven months since the fatal day in the street. A lot has happened since then. The aftermath was big. The Hokage and the Raikage met two days after the incident, and the Raikage tried to accuse us of killing his top jounin and demanded reparation unless Konoha was willing to rage war. If this were a different story, perhaps the Hokage would have backed down. Instead, he told the Raikage that his jounin was found trying to steal the heiress to the Hyuga clan, which is a severe offense mainly because he used the treaty signing as a cover up for it. And in no way will we pay reparations, because none of the Hokage's ninjas even killed him, it was a small seven years old, now eight, boy that had killed him. In fact, the Hokage wished that the Raikage would do something because then Kumo would be the laughing stalk of the entire shinobi nation. The Raikage left very quickly.

Although we won that battle the Raikage get his revenge, when the brother of the Hyuga head, Hizashi, was ambushed and killed about one week after the meeting. There was a village-wide funeral for him, but the Hokage didn't push the issue, and the Hyuga's never asked him.

Adjusting to the trauma was difficult. Saiken stopped filtering my dreams so that I could start dealing with the problem, and almost every night I woke up screaming. It got so bad that Shikaku had to put silencing seals up. Shika got the full brunt of it, and although I asked him if he wanted me to leave, he never said yes. He would stay up with me until we fell asleep again. He and Shino didn't even know what happened that affected me so bad until about three months after the incident. Although they accepted Saiken, killing the man was something I did. Finally, when the overwhelming stress got too much for me, I caved and told them. I didn't expect them to understand, what I went through and they never let me feel like they did, but they were there for me when I needed them, which was enough.

I also wasn't the only one that was affected. Since the incident happened on a Friday, I had two days to sit around before I had to go back to the academy. At first, I didn't want to go, but Inoichi said that maintaining routines might help me feel less like a monster. But on the first day back, Hinata didn't show up. She had seen everything and was frightened into a former shell of a person. It took her two weeks to pull herself back together enough. When she finally did show she came up to me and barely got a thank you out before running back to her usual seat. Now and then I would catch her glancing at me, but then she would quickly look away.

As for me when I wasn't sleeping the face of the Kumo ninja would invade my vision. I would see him giving lecture blood dripping from his eyes and freak out before the face disappeared and in its wake was a concerned Iruka. It would happen randomly throughout the day. It got worse because I began to have panic attacks, and Iruka had to excuse me from the class before I could calm down. My classmates thought I was a freak except for the three that knew what happened. Then I started to have vivid flashbacks I couldn't focus on anything, and my school work began to slip. Sasuke and Sakura took great pleasure in my academic failure. Eventually, I was at the bottom of the class. Sometimes Shika or Shino could snap me out of my flashbacks by touching me or whispering in my ear. But nothing seemed to work. I started to withdraw into myself eating less, and not participating in a conversation with people. It was easy to avoid people mostly because while I couldn't sleep at the Uzumaki compound, I could still train there, and then no one could bother me. Saiken instructed me into the ground because training is the only time my mind went blank. The darkness that surrounded me turned my mindscape from the once lovely scene into a dark and damp sewer.

It hurt so much when I saw the pain in the eyes of the people that I loved, but I couldn't escape the void that had built around me. I wanted to, but it was like a maze, and everywhere I turned led to a dead end. Inoichi and I tried several methods. We walked through my mind to dissect the events of the day. It helped dull the void, but I still couldn't escape. We tried talking about it or finding methods to bring me out of my flashbacks. Nothing seemed to work, but one day about three months after the event, Shikamaru and Shino showed up at the Uzumaki compound. I wanted to ignore them until they went away. But these were my friends, and Saiken said that love could help me heal.

They spent the entire day training with me. We didn't talk or interact really, but they were there. The void started to retreat a bit. It became a routine. At 6, they would show up after my extracurricular class and come to the Uzumaki compound, and we would train until eight. Then when it came time for dinner, they would fix me a plate. They knew that because I stopped eating for a while, I couldn't really eat a whole lot, so they gave me small portions, and each day they would increase the size only slightly. Things weren't perfect, but they were better. The flashbacks started to appear less and less. The panic attacks would become shorter. I stopped seeing the man everywhere. Once we got a good rhythm, we would start talking. About trivial things like the weather, but it was good to hear the sound of my voice.

Slowly I managed to push myself out of my shell. I was able to start replacing terrible memories with good ones, like the times that I would take a nap with Shino after training. Or sometimes play with a few of the bugs that Shino brought. Laughter was great. They would always make jokes to make me laugh. They were never funny, in fact, they were all pretty stupid, but for some reason, it would make me laugh for hours. Colors started to return, they were dull at first, but now they are beginning to return to the vibrancy that they used to be.

Slowly my grades got better. When I could finally focus, I asked Iruka if I could retake all of the tests that I either didn't take or did poorly on and redo some of my old assignments. Typically he would have said no, but he told me that it was hard to watch me become a shell of a person in the class. To see the top student become the worst student in almost an instant, and that he was proud of the progress I was slowly creating. He told me to get a note from the Hokage to make it official. When I got the not the next day, Iruka gave me all of my old assignments and tests, but he said I couldn't make up any of the practical exercises. Four months of work was a lot to catch up on plus the work that I got from school, but as I turned in assignment after assignment and test after test, my ranking in the class rose until there was a 1% difference between Sasuke and me. Boy did that cause some waves, but I didn't care because I was healing.

Speaking of healing Hikari was more open to revision than Iruka. She let me make up everything even practical exams, because iryo ninjutsu is a useful skill, and she couldn't lose the top student due to a little misfortune. She allowed me to do them after the weekend classes, and she was quite the slave driver, but it was nice that she didn't treat me like glass, and by putting all my focus on my iryo ninjutsu I was able to push the darkness away even further. Ino was glad to have her partner back. She was worried when I stopped showing up to the extra classes. I didn't even realize how my actions affected all of these people. Soon I reclaimed my number one spot, which forced Sakura back down to number three, not that it matters much since we were the only three people left in the class.

The incident left something on my soul. At first, it consumed it, like Jiji said it might. But it has been dramatically reduced in size. I do not think that I can get rid of it, but that is okay. It has become a part of me that I have learned to accept. There are times where his face will pop up out of nowhere and I sometimes still have nightmares, but I have determined not to be afraid of it anymore. I will no longer let this event have control over me.

If there is one thing that I did appreciate my depression days was the amount of training that I did. I think all of my muscles got slightly bigger, from breaking them down and Saiken healing them after pushing them through the ringer. After my first month of depression, Saiken said that my body had the right amount of strength and flexibility to start the Katas for slug style. Slug style had two forms. One was a stronger form and the other a flexibility. Both methods required strength and flexibility, but as the names suggested one train one characteristic more. Tsunade uses the strength style, so I opted for the flexible approach. I swear Saiken was trying to break my hip bones, with the number of splits and stretches she made me do. The katas were both tricky and easy. They were easy because there was only a few, well for the beginner portion at least. Because the style was freeform, there isn't a set way to move. The form is made to adapt to others and focuses on dodging and strong hits. The katas only really created a skeleton of selected motions, but it was up to the user to be able to adapt to another's taijutsu. Saiken even had me change my attire from the traditional Uzumaki robes to a Chinese garment. It is still blue but, the material and the design allow for more movement. There are also two flaps that run down the middle of the robe; this is where the Uzumaki clan symbol is. To complete the outfit, Saiken made me wear mesh pants and closed sandals. She reasons that they weigh less and will allow for more mobility.

Another thing that I had trained in was water walking. I am terrible at it. At best I was able to stand on still water for a few minutes before falling in after the third month of trying. As I got better and was able to focus more, I got better and better at maintaining a steady chakra output, that I could stand on the water with little concentration. About a month ago I asked Shibi to help me spar, but he was busy, so I begged Shikaku, who agreed. I also used my training sessions with Shikaku as training for the Slug style. I would stay on the defensive always dodging or evading until I either fell into the water or got knocked out of bounds by Shikaku. When I finally managed to hit him, it was only a glancing blow, but it was enough to bring a smile to his face because he was using low chunin level speed. It wasn't until just two days ago that I managed to fight a full spar against Shukaku, without being pushed out of the ring of falling. It brought my control up to 60% according to Saiken. The Water Walking technique is supposed to allow one to control 80% of their chakra, which is why most ninjas stop their chakra control here. The other half of the exercise is to do it on moving water, which is harder because one has to continually adjust their chakra to stay on top of the water.

Currently, I am at the academy; it is the last day before break. Iruka is at the front of the class with Mizuki, waiting for us to settle down. When we didn't do it fast enough, he yelled loud, and his head got bigger. It frightened most of the students into their seats. Iruka took a calming breath before looking at all of us. "Okay guys this is the last day, and you know what that means. End of the year exam." From the groans that came from the mass of students, you would think that they were being asked to cut off their foot. "Yes, yes I know tests aren't fun, but it is the only way for us to tell how you are doing. Now this will be a cumulative test, so expect to see questions from all throughout the year. There are about 120 questions with five extra credit questions that are worth a point each. You have three hours to complete the test, but I am sure you will all finish before that. Good luck." He and Mizuki passed out tests. Thankfully Iruka handed me my exam, so I did not have to worry about tampering.

The test was designed to weed out the people who didn't try to expand their knowledge beyond the academy lectures. It had easy questions like **who are the four Hokage?** Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Minato Namikaze. **Who are the three Sannin?** Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade Senju. **What are the ranks on missions, and why are they so?** E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS. The higher the rank a mission is, the more dangerous it is. Academy students can complete E ranked missions. Genin can complete D and C-ranked missions. Chunin can finish C, B, and occasionally A-ranked missions. Jounin can complete A, S, and sometimes SS-ranked tasks. Only ANBU can complete SSS missions. Then there were medium questions that are very specific such as: **What countries neighbor the Fire country?** Land of Rivers, Land of Rice, Ame, Kusa, and Taki. **Who are the allies of Konoha?** Suna. **Name the eleven clans that are in the Hidden Leaf?** Senju, Uzumaki, Uchiha, Sarutobi, Kurama, Nara, Aburame, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Hyuga, and Inuzuka. Then there were hard questions like **When was the first Kage Summit called, and what was the topic?** It was called in the First Ninja War, and the issue was the Biju. **Name one or two shinobi practices that are unique to the other four great hidden villages?** Suna has puppetry and fan use. Kumo has lightning manipulation and kenjutsu. Mizu has the seven swordsmen and water manipulation. Iwa has earth manipulation. **Why does leaf symbol have a swirl?** It is in memory of the Uzumaki clan, who were great allies.

The test was designed to weed out all of the people who didn't take the academy seriously. But the questions were also made to be easy to know if one spent enough time in a library. I was only able to answer them because Saiken is a great teacher and went over the complete history. The extra credit questions were nearly impossible to answer. For example **who won in the confrontation between the second Tsuchikage and Mizukage?** The answer is a trick question because they killed each other. Or how about **what is the Yuki clan's, from Mizu, Kekkei Genkai?** Ice release. **What are the two elements that makeup Scorch release?** Fire and Wind. **What killed the Nidaime?** He sacrificed himself to save his team, but not before naming Hiruzen Sarutobi as his successor. And finally **what is the Kekkei Genkai of the fourth Kazekage?** Magnet release. I had to rely on Saiken for the answers. I felt terrible at first for cheating, but I am a ninja, and we are allowed any resource at our disposal. I'm sure they didn't expect anyone to get these questions unless they lived their lives in the library, but oh well not my problem. When I finished, I put my pencil down and handed the exam to Iruka.

He smiles and says, "Okay Naruto there is only thirty minutes left in the exam period, afterward is a small break for lunch then there is the practical exam. If you want to leave for lunch, you may, but be back on time." I nodded and headed to the training yard and sat in the shade of a tree. I pulled out a scroll and applied a small amount of chakra to release the bento I made for today. It was a simple bento with an assortment of meat, onigiri, and eggs. I just got finished with the Onigiri, when Sasuke stepped out of the Academy with Sakura following right behind him. Both of them sneered at me before Sasuke skulked to a dark corner alone. Sakura tried to follow him, but with one stare she backed up, content to admire from a distance.

Shino was the next one to come out, and he sat next to me and pulled out a bento that Shina made for him. "How was the exam?" I ask before putting a piece of steak in my mouth.

"I am satisfied. Why? because I knew the answers to all of the questions plus one extra credit question."

"Nice. I also knew everything, but the extracurricular questions were killer. I had to consult Saiken for the answers."

Shino just nodded. "A ninja must use all that is at his disposal. Why? Because if they don't, they might die." We ate in silence for a few moments. Shino's words got me thinking about the chakra chains. I have been afraid of the chains for so long. But the chains didn't do anything wrong. They reacted to my will to live, so why was I still avoiding them. Shino seemed to have sensed my distracted state and started another conversation. "If it would please you, I would like to invite you to sleep at my house. Why? Because you have not been able to do so before."

I am a bit surprised that he invited me to stay over. "Does that mean that you have gained control over your Kikuchi?" See when an Aburame sleeps, his Kikuchi have almost free reign. An Aburame can learn to control the hive while asleep, but it generally takes a while. It was one of the reasons that I never slept at Shino's house during my time of depression. Shino wouldn't have complete control of his hive. Because I was the closest source of foreign chakra, they would have attacked me, which would leave me more traumatized than I already am.

"Yes. Why? Because you are my friend, and I wish to be there for you when you need me." It was a rare sight to see an Aburame think with their emotions and not logic. It brought a smile to my face.

"Sure Shino, I would love to sleep over." Shino nodded. The conversation shifted to a new type of bug that Shino found in his family observatory. As we continued to talk about the different attributes of the insect, more and more students came out, one of them being Shika, who was content to just lay in the shade as Shino and I talked.

When we finished with our lunch, Mizuki came out of the academy. "Okay students gather around." He waited for all of us to walk to him. "Now Iruka is grading your theoretical exams so that I will be the proctor of your physical exam. Now if you didn't already notice we set up an obstacle course designed to test your physical capabilities. If you make it through, you get a 100% on this segment. There are only ten segments, so if you for some reason cannot make it past an obstacle, you will get the score that corresponds to that section. I.e., if you fail on the first one you get ten percent, third one at thirty percent, and so on. After that, you will be asked to do a string of intensive exercises. This portion is pass or fail. You either do them all and get full credit, or you don't and get a zero. The final portion is 20 laps around the academy. I will be at the starting line to record all of your laps. Sound easy enough." There were a couple of murmurs of nervousness. One of them was mine. I have no problem with the test itself, but with only Mizuki as a proctor, I don't know what he will do. Mizuki had us line up by alphabetical order, so I was after Sasuke but before Ino.

The civilians sucked. They scored in the low 30 to 40's. Sakura shocked many when she managed to get a 70%. I think however it was a mixture of trying to impress her 'precious' Sasuke and her desire to pass everything that helped to get her that score. The shinobi kids did okay with general 70-80's. All of the clan kids got 100%, except for Hinata, who scored a 30% She has seemed to become worse folding into her self with little to no self-confidence. I wanted to help her, but I didn't know how. What worked for me might not work for her, plus I am afraid that she will become obsessed with me. She already spends most of the class staring at me; I didn't want to make it worse and make her into a fangirl. As for me, I scored 100%. Thankfully Mizuki announced every score after the examinee finished, so he was unable to do any sabotaging.

The next portion of the exam was 500 pushups, 800 crunches, 1000 jumping jacks, and 500 pull-ups. The pattern continued with the civilian kids, plus Sakura, failing this portion. Half of the shinobi kids failed as well. The clan kids, who have been conditioning their body since the age of 4 all passed, even Hinata. Not to say that some of us like Shika, Ino, and Shino who are on the least physical side of the spectrum, didn't struggle. But we all passed.

Then came the 20 laps. When Mizuki blew his whistle, I bolted. Sasuke and I are right next to each other while Kiba was right behind us. Throughout the entire run Sasuke did his best to try to pass me, but when he sped up, so did I. I gave him no space to get ahead. At lap ten Kiba started to lag behind. His clan focused on speed but generally had worse stamina. I stayed in the lead all until the last leg of the nineteenth lap, where Sasuke refused to lose and rammed into me, which caused me to fall onto my face. Mizuki saw the whole thing and said nothing. He just congratulated Sasuke on finishing first and told him that there was a four percent bonus to the percent bonus to the person who finished first. I picked myself up and crossed the finish line, and Sasuke sent me the smuggest look.

"Looks like I win, dead last."

"You do realize for that statement to be true, that I would have to be last in the class. My rank is second. And you only won, because you through a tantrum and body checked me. It seems to me that you can't win unless you take out your competition, which says a lot about you as a person." Without giving him a chance to respond, I entered the Academy to await the results. Iruka is at his desks, and there is a sheet that is blocking the scores. It took about twenty more minutes for the students to start trickling in. It took a whole hour for all of the students to return. Mizuki quickly wrote the scores of the physical exam next to the academic exam scores.

"Okay student's your exams have been graded. Now for you to pass and move onto the next year, your combined scores must average out to 70%. If you don't manage to qualify this year, you can do one of two things. You can retake this year, or you can drop out of the Academy." Without further ado, Mizuki dropped the sheet to reveal the scores. The scores are from the best to the worst based on the two exams. I am in the top position, with 104% on the academic exam and a 100% in the physical exam. The next person was Sakura, with a score of 103% and 57% for the second exam. Then came Shikamaru with 103% and 100%. Next was Shino with 101% and 100%. Then Sasuke with 100% and then 104%. Which, makes Sasuke the Rookie of the year, for now. The clan kids did well except for Hinata. She got a 66% on the theoretical and a 77% on the physical. Her overall score was 70%, which makes her the dead last of the class. Out of the 50 students that were in the class only 43 passed. The ones that failed looked lost, not quite sure what to do with themselves.

"Well, that wraps up this year. You have a two-month break which I hope you enjoy. Year 2 starts on January 1st, so don't be late." With that, there was a horde of screaming 7-8-year-olds running out of the Academy. Some kids' parents came to pick them up Shika was included in this group. We said our goodbyes, and I joined Shino on his way home. The graduation for my iryonin class was a week ago, and all three of us passed, so I was free.

Hanging out with Shino is excellent. Unlike Shika, he wants to do things, but he is also content on just enjoying other's company. While at the Aburame compound, we hung out in the observatory and watched all the different bugs. I talked to Shino about all the different plants in his observatory, while he told me all about insects from the lowly maggot to the mighty rhinoceros beetle. When dinner came, we had pleasant conversations with Shibi and Shina. After supper, we both did some training. He sparred with his father, while I practiced my fuinjutsu. I have managed to move on the intermediate stage of fuinjutsu, so Saiken now allows me to make my seals, well the beginner and some of the intermediate seals.

I couldn't focus on the words on the page because my mind kept going back to the chakra chains. Shino said that a ninja must use all that is at their disposal to survive, and Saiken noted that they were acting on my will to escape. I can't be scared of them any more; I can't stay stuck. With my mind made up, I was able to focus all of my attention on the book. I was able to read ten pages before the Aburame's retired for the night.

I take a long shower and get in my Uzumaki pajamas, before settling in next to Shino. He said goodnight and went to sleep. The constant buzz of his Kikuchi is a sweet comfort. I closed my eyes and immediately was brought in to my mindscape. The beautiful scenery of a lake and a forest returned. However in the corner was a rocky formation that is barely visible through the shadows. It is the physical representation of my depressions that my mindscape created. I could not get rid of it because it is me, and I wouldn't be who I am today if I did not have it.

I turn from the rock formation to see bubbles surround me before reforming into Saiken. " **Hello, Naruto. I sensed a shift in you today. Care to explain?** "

"You said that my mother used chakra chains right?"

" **Yes, she did. She was great at it. She was able to do much with it kill people,** " I cursed my self for still flinching at the thought of killing someone. " **She helped protect her people and seal things. In fact, she used them to help seal me and protect you.** "

"She did?" I say with amazement.

" **Yes, she did. I was still under control at the time, and the Yondaime was going to seal me into you, and the man did not want that so he ordered me to spit acid at you, and she created a chakra chain dome to protect you. Why all the questions?** "

"I can't be scared of the chains anymore. One day I might need them, so I have to know how to use them." Saiken nods.

" **Okay well, let's get started.** " I nodded. " **Now these are chakra constructs, but because of how dense the chakra of an Uzumaki is, the chakra can form into a physical chain. The chakra chains are a specialty of female Uzumaki members, but all members can use them. The way they work is you use chakra while thinking about chains, to help guide the chakra into that shape. Now the more chakra you use, the thicker the chain is and the slower it becomes and vice versa, less chakra means smaller chains but faster chains. In fact, this technique is a chakra control exercise.** "

"So all I have to do is use chakra and think about the chains?" Saiken nodded. Okay sounds simple. I gathered chakra in my gut and thought about the shape of the chains. At first, nothing happened, but then four chains burst from my stomach. I am shocked at there appearance immediately a flashback takes hold of me bringing me back to the alley where I killed that man. The images kept swirling around my brain leaving me frozen. Then I felt something on my face. One of the chains tips was rubbing against my face. It lifted my chin, and I looked at it. The chain twisted as if it was inquisitive. Then the three other heads joined. They turned towards each other before all of them wrapped around me with their heads on my shoulders. I was shocked.

Then they started to vibrate with a warm chakra vibrated against my skin. The scene in front of me changed to a light room. I looked behind me to see a beautiful woman with bright red hair holding me close to her. "Kaa-san?" The figure just smiled and hugged me tighter. Tears fell from my eyes as my mother continued to embrace me. My vision blurred with the tears, but I could see now that the chains were mimicking her actions. The chakra chains is a mother's love incarnate. I looked at my mother and nodded as the scene faded to reveal the chains. The chains uncurled from me as I slid my hands over the cool but warm adamantium. "Awesome."

Saiken laughed. " **Now the important thing to know about the chakra chains is that they can come from any point on your body, and you can make as many as you want as long as you have chakra. Plus it is not like a jutsu, where you lose chakra once you complete the mission, these chains are still attached to you, so the chakra in them is constantly recycling back into your system.** " Well now I know why they were a favorite of the clan, these chains are amazing. I pulled the chakra in the chains back into my body, and the chains receded in as well.

I looked at Saiken and said, " let's get started."

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The second year of the academy started on a somber note. In the middle of November, the public found out that Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's older brother, had massacred his entire clan. The only survivor was Sasuke himself. The day after the massacre there was a mass funeral for the family. Sasuke wasn't there because he was in a coma to let his body deal with the trauma. I visited once and told him I was sorry, but that was it. From what I know about his party, Sasuke wouldn't have wanted people to pity him. He woke up from his coma about two weeks from the first day of the Academy. Immediately he was swamped by people offering him gifts from jutsu scrolls to marriage proposals as if to say congrats you managed to survive your family slaughter. Word on the street is that Sasuke just locked himself in the Uchiha compound and train all day every day. Sort of what like what I did.

As for me, I am pretty much back to normal, well as usual as one can be when they kill someone when they are seven years old. I train a lot, mostly on my taijutsu and my chains. I have put water walking on the back burner to learn how to control the chains. I haven't made much progress. Since the chains are still attached to my chakra system, any irregularity causes them to deconstruct or get too big. So far I have only managed to make the chains about a centimeter thinner, but on the upside, I can make as many as I want. The other thing that I focused on was my fuinjutsu. I still haven't got past intermediate, but I am learning so much from more complex sealing scrolls to modification.

Besides training, I play with Shikamaru and Shino doing things that kids do like tag or cloud watching or shogi. I have officially moved back into my house, although sometimes I sleep over at the Nara's or the Aburame's. And sometimes Shino and Shika sleep over here. Our friend group expanded with the addition of Choji and Ino. Although they do not hang out with us 24/7, they join in when they can. Ino and I grew more close as we found a similar like to gardening. It isn't a complete shock to find me at the Yamanaka flower shop or to see Ino enter the Uzumaki compound to help me garden.

Iruka's shout for us to sit down brings me out of my thinking. " **You know you do that a lot.** " Saiken teases. I roll my eyes and mentally stick my tongue at her.

"Okay, now that you are all seated it is time to start Year 2 of the Academy. As I said in Year 1, this year will focus on physical training, teamwork, taijutsu, and weaponry, with a focus on chakra theory." Iruka started off.

"Now since there is not a lot of actual physical material the days will be shortened." Mizuki finished. There was a wave of cheers from the students.

"Yes the days are shorter, but we urge you to put time into your training. Just like last year, the end of the year exam will be harder. The shortness of the academy days does not affect the times of the extracurricular classes. Now any questions?" No one raised their hands. "Good, now this is how the days will lay out. For an hour we will practice physical activity, and then we will do team building exercises for two hours followed by two hours of weapons training. At noon, where we will break for an hour for lunch. After, we will have one hour of taijutsu training. Shall we get started?"

The day was fun. All of it was outside, which the students enjoyed. The physical training was still at a primitive level, so it wasn't too bad. The team exercises were about the same as last year, with my success rate with Choji and Ino going up due to our recent friendship. The weapons training for the first half went over the primary weapons that are used by shinobi, i.e., kunai, shuriken, and senbon. But we also learned about several threats that we might encounter such as a katana or a bo staff. Iruka explained that we would only be learning how to use kunai and shuriken. Then we were shown how to hold them properly. Mizuki tried to sabotage me by showing me the incorrect positions, but I was able to correct it by looking at the way Shino held his weapons. Then they demonstrated how to throw them, and allowed us the chance to do so to get a feel for it. No one got anywhere close to where they were aiming. When lunch came around the five of us sat in the shade of the trees. I played Go with Shino while Shika took a nap with his head resting on my lap. My free hand would run through his hair, which helped him fall asleep faster. Ino told us all the gossip of the town, while Choji was content to eat. When the break was over Iruka had us line up in lines of five, and then showed us the first two kata's to the academy style taijutsu. After demonstrating each kata twice, he asked us to follow along. While he was doing that, Mizuki walked between the rows and made adjustments to our stances. He again tried to show me the wrong positions, but I stand firm on the places that Iruka showed us.

"Now remember kids, the Academy style is just a foundation for you. In time you will be able to find a style that already exists or make your own. If you are not great at the Academy style don't feel like you are not great at taijutsu, each person has their unique style." With that, the day was wrapped up, and we were allowed to leave. Shika invited me to his house to play shogi before I had to return to the academy in two hours. We managed to play three games, and each time I lost. But Shika said that I was a great opponent because my strategies are random. Sometimes they were spontaneous, which forced him to change his approach on the fly.

When it is 3:30 I said goodbye to Shika and joined Ino on the way to the Academy. We entered our regular class, where Sakura was already sitting. We decided to all sit in the same booth since there are three chairs for a table and there are only three students. Ino sat in the middle because Sakura didn't like me. At precisely 4:00 Hikari-sensei entered the classroom. "Hello students, it nice to see that all of you returned this year. Now as I said the year before we will be focusing on poisons and antidotes, but periodically you will be tested on your anatomy. We will also be working on animals. You will tell me how the animal died and how you would have tried to save the animal. Let's get started." Hikari-sensei then turned around and wrote the word poison. All three of us already had our notebooks open. The year is going to be a fun one.

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It has now been five months since the start of the year, and many things have changed. For one the class structure has changed. Last year was the purely academic year, which meant that even with no significant training one could pass, but now that we have moved onto ninja skills there has been a substantial gap between the civilian kids and the shinobi and clan kids. The commoner kids did not have the years of discipline that it takes to catch up with us, which is not to say that they are failing. The eight clan kids are towards the top with Sasuke in first and me in second.

Sasuke has changed a lot from that arrogant boy that he was last year. I think the only reason that he was so cocky and terrible was due to the influence of his family. Now that he is all alone he has become a bit of a recluse. All he does is train and go to the academy. Sn one hand I like that he has mellowed out a bit, but on the other, he is borderline obsessive with how much he trains. I want to grow stronger, but I know that it is not healthy to continually train.

Besides the standard classes, the extracurricular medical courses were excellent. Since there are only three of us, it is easier to learn concepts because Hikari-Sensei doesn't have to divide her attention between multiple people. The material is awesome. I like poisons because it is such an efficient way to take out your opponent. You don't need to waste all of your chakras on an A-ranked jutsu when one tiny scratch can take a full grown man down. Ino knows her poisons and antidotes well and has managed to overtake me in the leaderboard. It is understandable because the Yamanaka's are the primary providers for all of the poisonous plants in Konoha. Sakura has become less of an annoyance as of late as well. I have an inkling that it is because Sasuke's fan club has noticed how much he likes to train, so has decided to apply themselves more. She still doesn't show up for the extra classes, but at least she is trying. The only thing that put me off was working on animals. At first, it repulsed me, but I have become desensitized to working on the dead animals with the encouragement of Hikari-Sensei.

My training has reaped many rewards. With the Taijutsu, I have mastered all of the basic katas and have moved to the intermediate steps. The spars that the Academy has every day allows me to practice my Slug style on real opponents enabling me to gain valuable experience. With weapons training, I am adequate at both kunai and shuriken throwing, shuriken more than kunai. But what I excelled in is senbon. At my request Hikari-Senesi, showed me how to throw them. They are great in combination with all of the poisons that I am learning to make, and they feel right in my hand. As for the chakra chains, I had made a breakthrough when I discovered that the more chains that I make, the smaller and faster I can make them. When there are only a few chains, the chakra concentrates, and it takes a lot of focus to maintain the amount of chakra that each chain holds. But if I make say 50, then it is easier to make them smaller and faster. I think it is because chakra is used to circulating through thousands of coils in my body, that when there are more chains, the chakra treats them like they are just chakra coils and allows the chakra to run evenly throughout all of them. Right now the next step is to slowly reduce the number of chains that are required for this effect to kick in.

Shino and I are continually training whether it is at the academy or on our own, that leaves Shikamaru with nothing to do. He says that it is okay because it gives him time to sleep more or catch up on his cloud watching, but I can tell that he misses the company, so I make it my mission to hang out with him four days out of the week. Shikamaru is essential to me, and he was there when I felt like I had no one, and while he is not exactly going through what I went through, I never want him to question if I am his friend or not.

Now that I finish reflecting on my growth I zone back into the class where Iruka is giving a lecture to some of the boys. "- little knuckleheads. Okay, it is about that time, so I am dismissing you guys. Remeber that if you signed up the kenjutsu classes, they would start this weekend in this classroom, so don't be late. Enjoy the rest of your day." With that, the kids leave. I gave Shino a wave as he headed towards his Taijutsu class. I shook Shika awake, and it took him a good minute to wake up. He rubbed at his eyes while looking at me curiously. "Don't you have to go to your extracurricular class now?"

I shook my head which caused some of my red hair to fall onto my face. I pushed the hair behind my ear before answering, "no Hikari-Sensei had an important mission and did not have the time to find a sub, and you would know this if you didn't sleep through class."

"Maa Maa Naruto. I already know everything that he is trying to teach." ough out the entire class."

"Maa Maa Naruto, you know that I already know what he is talking about," Shika says standing and stretching out all of the kinks.

"You know that is beside the point Shika. You know that your mother is always pushing for you to train more."

"My mother is troublesome." He says while putting his hands in his pocket while we walk out of the Academy.

"But she is right; you need to train."

"Naruto my dream is to become an average Chunin and then have a boy and a girl."

"Yes I know, but think of it this way children can learn and develop skills. If you think about it, it will be easier to get stronger now than it will be later, ultimately saving yourself from doing more work further down the road." I said in a sing-songy voice. Shika just grumbled something about troublesome blonds. "So what do you want to do?"

"We can cloud watch." I think for a minute before agreeing. We made our way to the top of the Hokage mountain before settling on Tobirama Senju's head and watched the clouds as they floated across the sky peacefully. When the sun began to set the clouds burst into patches of red, blue, and purples. There are simplicity and elegance that comes with cloud watching. Some might call it lazy, but it is relaxing to do nothing every once in a while. Shika and I just laid there and enjoyed the beauty of the sky.

When the sun thoroughly set and the stars started to appear, Shika and I headed home for the night. We said our goodbyes and went into our separate homes. I have finally started sleeping on my own. I make a quick dinner before taking a bath and then heading off to bed. I have a full day ahead of me tomorrow.

My eyes open as the sun peaks through the window. I sigh and stretch to allow my body to gain full mobility. I made rice and vegetables for breakfast and soup that I will save for lunch before heading towards the hospital. Nothing too outrageous happens on my shift. When it was over, Ino and I had a quick meal before I made my way to the Academy. There I found four boys already in the room. One of them was a civilian kid, two were from shinobi families, and the last person was Sasuke. I took a seat a good bit away from them all. It was not three minutes later when a large burly man entered the room. "All of you stand and follow me." Without a second thought, we followed the man out to the training yard. He stopped in the shade of a large tree and told us to sit. "My name is Krishna, but you will address me as Sensei. I will teach you the arts of Kenjutsu, any questions so far?" There were none. "Okay, so this lesson will be short because I will only be going over the curriculum for the next three years. Now we only have half a year, so you will only be learning the basics of swordplay. You know how to swing a sword, how to block, and how to treat a sword. The third year, you will be given a bokken and taught the basic katas, and you will practice them by sparring. The fourth year you will learn the intermediate kata's. In your last and final year, I will take you to a weaponsmith where you will help forge your sword. Then you will find a style that will suit you, before graduating from the Academy. Now run on home and be ready for your first official lesson next Saturday." With that Sensei disappeared in a swirl of leaves. With no one there we all dispersed, going our separate ways.

The rest of the second year was a bit monotonous. Every day I would go to the Academy. When I finished, I would go to my healing class and then spend an hour with Shika and Shino. Before finally practicing my chakra chains and my taijutsu for the rest of the day and repeating the cycle. My healing classes were fun as we got to test out the poisons, and then given an hour to remove the toxins. Or Hiakri-Sensei would bring in poison, and we had a certain amount of time to create an antidote. My Kenjutsu class was alright. The learning material is primitive but essential. And all of the students seemed dedicated to the art, so that is a plus. Towards the last few weeks of the Academy, Iruka taught us the hand signs and a bit of chakra theory. Saiken promised to start teaching me ninjutsu if I pass this year.

It was now the last day of the Academy, and all the prospective students were awaiting the arrival of the proctors. "Okay students as you all know today is the final exam, pass it and you will move on to the next year. However if you fail you will be either asked to repeat the year or remove yourself from the ninja program." Iruka said in a serious manner. "Now as before we will start with a theoretical test, afterwards you will head to the training ground to complete the physical test, with Mizuki." While Iruka was explaining the process, Mizuki passed out the exams. When he placed mine on my desk, Saiken notified me that there was a genjutsu on it. With a quick an small burst of chakra the genjutsu was dispersed. The next hour was honestly the easiest hour of my life, the questions did not change much from last year, so I assume there will be a boost in scores. As for the physical test, we did all that we did last year in addition to weapons tests. It was almost lackluster how easy the exams were. In total we all passed, even though the gap between civilian and shinobi being maintained by ten percent. Sasuke got the number one spot, but in all honesty I did not mind to much. Let the smug bastard have his title, it means nothing in the real world.

After Iruka dismissed us Shika, Shino, and I congregated in the yard of the Academy. "So Naruto my mother is having a party for another successful year in the Academy, honestly it is such a drag. Do you want to come, of course Shino you are invited as well?" Shino nodded his confirmation.

"I would love to but, Saiken said that she had something important that she wanted to show me. So I am just going to head home." They both nodded. "Have fun at your party." I say with a wave before jumping to the rooftops of Konoha. In no time I arrived at my house where Saiken pulled me into my mindscape.

Landing on the lake I waited until the bubbles that I knew were Saiken formatted. " **Hello Naruto**."

"Hi Saiken, what did you want to talk about?"

" **As you know the next year of the Academy, you will be allowed to use chakra, which means that as of today, I will up your training**."

"I will finally be able to learn jutsu's?"  
" **Yes, but be ready, for the next three years will be severely grueling**."

"Bring it!"

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(Three Years Later)

While sitting patiently for my final exam that will determine if I have what it takes to be a ninja or not, I cannot help but think back to all the work that I put in. Before I actually started my training Saiken had me hard at work to finish the water walking exercise, and with enough patience and persistence, I managed to master it two months late. Saiken said, at that point she would be willing to teach me ninjutsu or she would teach me another chakra control exercise. Now due to my chakra chains, control has become a bit of a moot point, but I was not satisfied with only 80% control over my chakra, so I pursued more control until I finally masted the last chakra control exercise, waterfall walking, about five months later.

This is not to say that I only practiced chakra control excercis in those eight months. I also got an expert level grasp of the Slug style taijutsu, which helped me in the Academy, when Mizuki tried to sabotage my Academy style, plus because Shino ha been practacisng his own taijutsu style, the praying mantis style, it lead to more and more spars, which only improved our understanding of our individual styles.

Besides Taijutsu, I worked with my chakra chains, and made significant progress with them. I am now able to control one single chain that is small, and have even managed to imbue a semi sentience into them, so they are able to move on their own without me guiding them. I also have learned how to use them to make armor. By making the chains as thin and long as possible, they take on a thread like appearance, and while interweaving them I have made a chain mail armor. In fact, I forgo my usual outfit for an exact copy made of chakra chains. There were so many benefits, one is defense, since I no longer wear cloth it will be harder to pierce through me. In addition because of the sentience they can unravel enough, while still maintaining my modesty, to act as weapons or extra defense. Another added benefit that I found out while sparing with Hinata Hyuga at the Academy, is that because the chains are made of pure chakra it makes it impossible to see through them to see my teketsu. On the downside it also makes it nearly impossible to hide from sensors, oh well something to work on.

Because I mastered the chakra control exercises Saiken tasked me with finding out my chakra natures. A quick trip to the Hokage got me a chakra nature paper. After learning how each nature affects the paper, I imbued it with chakra and was surprised at the results. The paper split in half, so Wind, and 75% of the paper became damp, so Water, while the remaining 25% burned to ash, so Fire. After a quick explanation from Saiken, I learned that the Wind nature was probably from my father and that Uzumakis are common to have Water natures. The Fire nature was actually from Saiken. She said that the Fire nature is what made it possible for the bubbles that are produced by her to explode, and in addition to that it also allowed for Acid release. Now the explosive bubbles come when 75% water and 25% fire, however when 85% water and 15% fire is mixed it creates Acid. Saiken said that she would not allow me to mix my chakra natures until I mastered at least two C ranked jutsus from each nature.

With my work cut out for me I dived into my studies. Because Water was my strongest affinity I decided to start there, it only took two day to learn Water style: Water Gun, and then a week to learn Water style: Water Bullet. However Saiken was not satisfied with just successfully doing a jutsu, she wanted them mastered, which took me another month. After that I focused on Wind. With the help of the son of the Hokage, Asuma, I learned Wind Style: Gust and Wind style: Gale. However it took me three months to master them both. Because Wind is invisible to the naked I it was harder than normal to master these two ninjutsu. Finally was Fire, which I learned Fire style: Ember, and Fire Style: Fire Ball. It took me the better part of a year however, to master them.

While learning my first six ninjutsu I finally got to use my first iryoninjutsu: Mystic Palm Technique. It was actually harder to heal someone than initially thought. Not only did my chakra control need to be 100% accurate, I needed to also be aware of how the iryoninjutsu heals the body, which requires the vast knowledge of the body, and a clear understanding of how the injury occurred. Once I showed Hikari-Sensei that I could use the Mystic Palm Technique without fail even in a stressful environment, I was given full access to the hospital as a volunteer doctor, and have had many shifts since. Not all of them end well, with some patients being to damaged to save, but the fact that I have healed so many people have helped with my mental health. It has also started a positive reputation amongst the civilians, although they are still wary of being serviced by me.

As for my Kenjutsu classes, they were quite fun. I am not sure kenjutsu will be a main factor in my fighting style, but it was fun to learn and a useful skill. I am not the best at my kata's mostly because I do not put in as much time in as other's but I am amongst the top ten.

What irked me the most was genjutsu. While I could create decent genjutsu, I could not escape for my life. Shika found this very fun. He made it a game to put me in genjutsu at random times of day, and I would have to try to escape. In all honesty it actually helped me to escape a majority of them, and the game made him happy so a double win.

With my last year at the Academy, Saiken gave me permission to use the bubble blower as I started to learn bubble and acid release. Saiken had me focus on bubble release, since it was easier. We started with three simple ninjutsu; Bubble release: Bubble Bomb. Bubble release: Bubble Stream, and Bubble release: Bubble Shield. We started by just using pure Water nature to create the bubbles. Then as time progressed I would slowly add fire nature until I finally mastered the ninjutsu. It was hard to make sure that the bubbles only blew up on contact or my will, and that specifically for Bubble release: Bubble Shield to make sure that the concusive power blew outward and did not harm me. Eventually after five months of hard work and a lot of help with Saiken, I was able to move onto acid release, although I was only really able to get the basics of one acid release jutsu, Acid release: Corrosive, which is baisically just corrosive water.

This brings me to today. "Hey Naruto are you ready for the exam?" Shika asked as he slumped into the seat next to me.

"Hey Shika. Yeah I think I am ready. It would pretty ironic if I, the person who pushed for a harder test, to fail." Shikamaru snorted at the retort.

Just then Shino walked into the classroom and took his usual seat on the other side of me. "I hope you are ready for the exam. Why? Because it would be a shame if my friends could not become ninja's with me.

"Haha." I said while putting my arm over his shoulder. "Of course Shino, we cannot leave you behind." While Shino showed no outward sign of acknowledgment, his Kikaichu buzzed at a frequency slightly higher than normal, and because Shikamaru and I have been such close friends with him, we were able to pick up on the subtle frequency change. With nothing else to do, Shikamaru fell into slumber while we waited for the rest of the class. Shino and I used his Kikaichu to form cool and new patterns. As the class started to fill out, it was sad to see that the class had dwindeled to just twenty people with 11 of them being clan kids.

Shortly after the last person took their seat Iruka and Mizuki filed into the classroom. "Good morning prospective genin. I am happy to see all of you here to take the qualification exam in order to see if you have what it takes to be a genin. You have all worked hard these past five years and you should be proud of all your progress." There was a couple of whoops from the more rowdier kids. "Settle down kids. Now as you know by now the first portion of the exam is an test that should take you about an hour, but you have two hours to complete it if you need it. Afterward we will brake for lunch to tally up the scores. One we congregate again you will wait to be called one by one to the training ground for the physical portion of the exam. If you pass both, you will be given a headband and be considered a genin of Konoha. I wish you all good luck." And with that the exams were passed out, with Iruka giving me mine.

The questions where drastically different than the exams from previous exams. They required you to pull your knowledge from all years to create an adequate questions. There were also questions that question your morals and resolve, most likely to see if a candidate was mentally ready to be a genin. It was honestly one of the most grueling hour that I have ever spent. I used the remaining hour to look over my answers and flesh out any ideas that I think needed to be expanded upon. When the two hours were up, Iruka set us free for an hour lunch break.

With so much time on our hands the three of us, Shino, Shika, and I had our lunch at Ichiraku Ramen. It was a nice change of pace, while we ate we exchanged our answers to each question, sometimes agreeing and sometimes disagreeing with what we wrote. When we had our fill we jumped back to the Academy to await the next test. Shino was the first to go because his name started with A. It was not until the next person, Choji, was called that we realized that the students were led to a separate room after the exam to prevent cheating. It was a long time before Shika was called, with each exam taking ten to twenty minutes. Soon it was just Ino and I. "Naruto, we are ready for you now." Iruka said. I got up to leave, but not before wishing Ino good luck when it was her turn, which she returned. Iruka led me to the training yard, where I saw three posts set up and a large ring was set up.

"Okay Naruto for the first portion we will test your accuracy with both kunai, shuriken, and, senbon ten per weapon. You must complete this portion at least fifty feet away from the target. An extra bonus point will be given, with a maximum of three, if you can do this while in motion." I nodded. "You will use these equipment to rule out any cheating." He handed me the weapons, thankfully they were sharp and weighted correctly. I took a deep breath, when I was at the required distance before bursting into a quick lateral motion, while throwing one weapon after the other. When I finally stopped, I had no more weapons. Iruka and Mizuki looked at the targets and discussed my score.

"Naruto you managed to hit all vital areas with your throws, so you get full credit with the additional points your score is 110%." Mizuki said with a grit. "The next portion is a Taijutsu battle with me. Your objective is to stay in the ring for two minutes, if you manage to push me out you will receive an extra five percent." I did not like the smile that creeped onto his face, as we faced off. I would not let my guard down. When Iruka blew the whistle, Mizuki flew at me with the speed of a chunin, and tried to deliver a punch to my gut. Thankfully I was prepared and bent backwards, which quickly followed by using my momentum to allow my feet to grab Mizuki around the waist and launch him away. Mizuki righted himself before he went out the ring, and as soon as his feet landed he was on me with a flurry of punches, that I managed to evade. Each time he would go for a strike I would slip around the attack into his guard and deliver a precise strike to his lower abdomen. Seeing as his strategy was not working, Mizuki went for a low sweep. However, I pushed off the ground and delivered a swift kick to his solar plexus that sent him flying. I quickly flipped to land on my feet. I looked to see Mizuki dangerously close to the edge. With a last burst of speed, I used my momentum to shoulder push him out. He landed unceremoniously on his ass. He was baffeled on how he lost to a challenge, but I just smirked.

"Well that concluded the Taijutsu portion, Naruto full credit and five extra percent. The next portion is taijustu. We require the acdemy three plus four c-ranked ninjutsu. They can be any of your choosing." He stood of to the the side as I started to run through the handsigns for the academy three. After I completed them I ran through the handsigns for my two water ninjutsu and fire ninjutsu. "Congrats Naruto full credit again. With that in addition to a passing grade from your earlier test and having passed the required extra curicular classes, I am proud to present you with a hitai-ate. You may select from a selection of headbands." He said while patting my back.

I scoured the headbands, with not many standing out to me. But finally I found one. It was a light blue in color with red accents. I grabbed it and quickly tied it around my neck, with metal plate resting against my throat. This is it. My first step to my dreams. I wonder what the future will have in store for me.

 **Finally after a long time I have finished the second tower. Honestly 2018 was not my year, with constant financial troubles and problems with my roomates and stress from the classes I was taking, I was not really feeling the motivation to write. I also acknowledge that I might have bitten more than I can chew with trying to write about all seven years. I hope you all like this chapter, it provides a basis for Naruto's future. Enjoy**


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